AWARDSThe Dutch version of this biography, Hugo de Groot, een leven in strijd om de vrede (Amsterdam: 2007) was awarded two literary prizes: the ‘Litteraire Witte Prijs’ by Sociëteit de Witte (The Hague) in 2008 and the ‘Henriëtte de Beaufort Prijs’ by the Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde (Leiden) in 2010.‘As a comprehensive study of the extensive life records of one of the major figures of late humanist intellectual, political and religious culture, it sets a daunting benchmark. […] this book […] can already be ranked alongside the best studies of the seventeenth-century republic of letters, and selections from it would serve as an outstanding introduction to late humanism for advanced undergraduates or graduate students.’Nicholas Hardy (Trinity College), in: Journal of early modern history 20 (2016), pp 497-499.‘this book is the standard that any future studies of Grotius must consult’Keith D. Stanglin (Austin Graduate School of Theology), in: Church History and Religious Culture 96 (2016), pp. 208-209.‘Nellen gives us a comprehensive and detailed biography of this complex and important figure. Originally published in Dutch, this English translation makes Grotius’s ideas and writings accessible and explicable to a wider audience. In particular, Nellen superbly explains the substance of the religious disputes that absorbed Protestants across Europe in the seventeenth century and elucidates their political dimensions both in the Netherlands and internationally. […] Anyone researching Grotius, Grotian ideas, and the early history of the Netherlands will find this an immensely useful work. Readers in other fields, principally the history of seventeenth-century religious conflicts in Europe and early modern political theory, will also find this a valuable source of information.’Deborah Baumgold (University of Oregon), in: Renaissance Quarterly 69, No.1 (2016), pp. 315-316.
