De Negentiende Eeuw 33 (2009) 2

‘I desire never again to experience that kind of freedom’. Absolving the past in Dutch autobiographies (1800-1850).The way Dutch autobiographers looked back on their lives changed much in the period between 1750 and 1850. In this period a new consciousness of history developed in which the gap between past, present and future was widened. Autobio graphies from this so-called Sattelzeit contain new ideas, such as an emphasis on the irreversible character of the past. Nostalgia, however, is scarce, at least compared with French autobiographies, according to Peter Fritszche, who mainly studied writing by French emigrants. Several reasons are discussed for this unique development in the Netherlands. First, there was no large wave of emigra tions after 1795, and consequently less longing for a lost past among Orangists. Secondly, the Batavian Revolution had lead to a French occupation that everyone, including former revolutionaries, wanted to forget.

Towards an integrated history of the nineteenth-century city. A review of fifteen Dutch urban biographies.Over the last twenty years, the writing of modern urban biographies has been one of the core activities of Dutch urban historians. Focusing on the analysis of the nineteenth century city in fi fteen major urban biographies, this review discusses their selection of themes, composition and style, but also explores new possibilities to enhance the synthetic potential of urban historiography. The article argues that in the next few years more attention might be paid to the stimulating role of urban government, especially in economic and cultural development; to the contested creation of class and gender relations in the fi eld of leisure; and to the multifaceted character of urban space: as a structure, a built environment and a socially constructed site of daily experience.