Multatuli (1820-1887), born Eduard Douwes Dekker in Amsterdam, was one of the Netherlands' greatest writers. He traveled to the Dutch East Indies in 1838, and had a number of government jobs until resigning from his position as assistant commissioner of Lebak, Java, in 1856, when his efforts to protect the Javanese people from their own chiefs were not supported by the colonial government. Upon returning to Europe, he became renowned for his novel Max Havelaar, first published in 1860, which was based on his time in the Dutch East Indies.
Ina Rilke is a translator of Dutch and French and has received the Vondel Prize, the Scott Moncrieff Prize, and the Flemish Culture Prize for her translations. She lives in Amsterdam and Paris.
David McKay is a translator of Dutch literature and was longlisted for the 2017 Man Booker International Prize for his translation of Stefan Hertman's War and Turpentine.
