Flanders: A Cultural History (Landscapes of the Imagination)

Flanders: A Cultural History (Landscapes of the Imagination)

André de Vries explores the varied landmarks of Flanders, both rural and urban, to reveal this region's unique character. Considering great cities such as Ghent, Antwerp, and Bruges, he traces the development of a civic culture based on both trade and ideas, in which religion and language play a vital part. Looking too at the Flemish countryside, he explains the role of festivals and folk culture, gluttony and pleasure, in the survival of a strongly local identity. "Informative and lucid....De Vries's writing is vivid."--T. Goyens, CHOICE "The book is well written, entertaining, easy to read, and contains an impressive range of interesting facts, anecdotes, and information about the composite parts of Flanders. Its strength is the range of material, and the ability of the author to relate the political, cultural, and artistic elements to one another, to create a wellpresented, rounded vision of the historical landscape of Flanders."-- The Historian Looks at a different side of this battle-torn region André de Vries , a native of Ghent, is a writer and translator with a particular interest in Flemish. He is also the author of Brussels: A Cultural and Literary History .