The Thousand and one nights and orientalism in the Dutch Republic, 1700-1800: Antoine Galland, Ghisbert Cuper, Gilbert de Flines

Abstract

Antoine Galland's French translation of the '1001 Nights' started appearing in 1704. One year later a pirate edition was printed in The Hague, followed by many others. Galland entertained a lively correspondence on the subject with the Dutch intellectual and statesman Gisbert Cuper (1644-1716). Dutch orientalists privately owned editions of the 'Nights' and discreetly collected manuscripts of Arabic fairytales. In 1719 the 'Nights' were first retranslated into Dutch by the wealthy Amsterdam silk merchant and financier Gilbert de Flines (Amsterdam 1690 - London 1739). This book explores not only the trail of the French and Dutch editions from the eighteenth-century Dutch Republic and the role of the printers and illustrators, but also the mixed sentiments of embarrassment and appreciation, and the overall literary impact of the 'Nights' on a Protestant nation in a century when French cultural influence ruled supreme.