On the move: finding pearls

 A recognizable situation: you’ve lost something precious and been looking for it for ages. All of the sudden - when you move or clean - it appears again. The joy you feel!
                   It happened with the very special edition of the early eighteenth century book La Babylone demasque’e (1727). 

This almost 300 year old masterpiece is written by Johanna Dorothea Lindenear (1664-1737) and is special in many ways. Besides the remarkable age, it is written by a woman, which is unique for that time. The author is known for her very interesting life story, which influenced this book greatly. Lindenaer, or Johanna Dorothea Zoutelande or Madame de Zoutelandt, was a writer, memoirist and translator from The Netherlands. In 1703 she got arrested in Maastricht. Lindenear was accused of high treason and spying activities in connection to the war of the Spanish succession. A year later she escaped and fled to Paris, where she did her ‘confession of faith’ to the Roman Catholic Church. She also continued professional writing, which she started with describing her memoires while in prison. This combination led to the creation of La Babylone demasque’e. 

La Babylone demasqu’e is written as a letter from a Dutch protestant lady to Miss Van Zoutelande with questions about her devotion to Catholicism. In five lengthy letters she gives extensive answers to all of the questions, which comprises information on various religious factions and many examples from the daily Catholic life.
                  With special attention we pack this book, just like all of our other outstanding works, to reveal it again in The Hague.

For more information about this book, click here 

Benthe van Houtum