ABSTRACT
his introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book addresses two lacunae in existing scholarship, both related to crossings such as the ones that Huygens made: first, it contributes to a further understanding of mutual Anglo-Dutch cultural influence in the period, which was a natural consequence of the nations’ complex interactions in politics, trade, and knowledge. Second, the canonical English authors John Milton and Andrew Marvell allow author to focus this broader ambition through specific texts and events. Showing previously overlooked Dutch influences in their works–sometimes subtle or disguised, sometimes explicit or stereotypical–enhances our appreciation. Milton’s and Marvell’s biographies as much as their literary work make them useful to the imagological-transnational approach taken, since they were both heavily involved in public and political life during key moments of the seventeenth century.
