Fine Dining in The Middle Ages
‘Fine Dining in The Middle Ages’ – Uitgeverij De Muze – Leiden – 2015 – Dutch to English
‘Fine dining in the Middle Ages’ is the English version of the successful Dutch book ‘De Smaak van de Middeleeuwen’. It is an illustrated cookbook, which describes the food culture in The Middle Ages, and includes easy-to-make medieval recipes.
Van Gogh – Struggle and Success
Published in 2014 and developed in close collaboration with the Van Gogh Museum, written by the Museum’s former chief curator Dr. Fred Leeman, and narrated by Academy Award-winner Dame Helen Mirren, this audio-biography provides you with a highly accessible and lively expert account of Van Gogh’s life in just under two hours. The accompanying art booklets trace the development of his revolutionary work and its increasingly successful reception up to this day. Find the audiobook on Amazon.
Lampersari
‘Lampersari’ – Boissevain & Van Empel – 2003 – 2007 – Dutch to English
‘Lampersari’ is a diary written during World War 2 in Indonesia under the Japanese occupation. The authors, Gon Boissevain and Lennie van Empel, are both survivors of the Japanese concentration camp Lampersari, on the island of Java. One part of the book is taken from Mrs van Empel’s personal diary, which she kept illicitly during her 4-year imprisonment in the concentration camp. The other part of the book is a record of Mrs Boissevain’s memories of that same camp, which she committed to paper after reading Mrs van Empel’s diaries.
Light on Leiden
‘Light on Leiden’ – Uitgeverij De Muze – 2014 – Dutch to English
In ‘Light on Leiden’, the Dutch author and photographer, Diana van den Driessche, takes the reader on a number of walks through the streets of Leiden, one of the oldest cities in The Netherlands. She describes locations in Leiden that are of great interest to tourists as well as locals. This 160-page book contains photos of all the points of interest. Published in 2014 by Uitgeverij de Muze.
86 Leiden Alleys By Night
’86 Alleys by Night’ – Uitgeverij De Muze – Leiden – 2016 – Dutch to English
Leiden has 86 alleys, and photographer Harry Otto set out to photograph every one of them, at night. His publisher asked me to do the English translation of the accompanying Dutch text. Both versions feature side by side in the publication.
Leiden’s Blue Hour
The ‘blue hour’ (from the French l’heure bleue) is the phrase that photographers use to describe the short time period which occurs just before sunrise and just after sunset. It’s the moment when, for a short space of time, the sky takes on a breathtaking blue. Like many photographers and painters, Carla Matthee is mesmerised by the blue hour. It doesn’t always occur at the exact same time the street lights are lit. However, that is exactly the moment that she looks out for, the moment at which the deep blue of the sky contrasts with the bright yellow of the street lights. It is a colour contrast that also inspired Vincent van Gogh. The effect is amplified when these complementary colours are reflected in still water. If she’s lucky, then the reflection of the colours on the canals and wet streets turns the lens into a kaleidoscope. Find the book here.