-50-
that I would discover that some specifications on publications had to be corrected. So I worked through
the files of the various publishers.
The search for figures on the edition sizes printed turned out to be practically fruitless, and this was a
great dissapointment. The only publisher whose figures I discovered was A.C. Kruseman; his books were
kept in the KVB. The material found in the portfolios labelled 'personalia' and 'prospectussen' did not
give any clue about such figures. What I did find a couple of times was a prospectus mentioning a special
offer or extra edition not found in Het Nieuwsblad. These I have entered in the list of publications giving
"mentioned in prospectus". One example is P.N. van Kampen's "tijdelijke prijsvermindering" of Groote
Verwachtingen and In Londen en Parijs, mentioned in a prospectus of December 1866.
Finally I compiled the bibliography of the Dutch publications of Dickens' work between 1859 and 1875,
unfortunately with one vital piece of information practically missing. If this list can tell anything about
Dickens' popularity in The Netherlands, it can only be judged by what it shows about the number of
publications and the frequency with which books were reprinted or published in new editions. Otherwise
we can only rely on an occasional remark found in Het Nieuwsblad.
There are some general remarks to be made about the list of Dutch publications of Dickens' work. Firstly,
that all the novels and stories published in the period 1859-1875 were translations, except one: Selections
from a Child's History of Englanda special school edition; secondly, that 1 have included in the list a
work that was not written by Charles Dickens himself: Het Leven van Dickens, by his friend John Forster.
The reason to do this was, on one hand, that this biography was part of FI.A.M. Roelants' Dickens-editie;
on the other, that it could tell something about the interest in Charles Dickens in The Netherlands.
The publications on the list are numbered Where the publication of a complete set of instalments of a
work began in one year and continued in the next, I have split the number up in a and b. When a title was
found more that once on the list (which was often) I have given a reference to previous numbers under the
last number under which the title was found. 1 have also made a distinction between the 'regular' Olivier
Twist and its adapted version. The list also has a section A and B: H.A.M Roelants is set apart from the
other publishers of Dickens' work, mainly because they published an extensive series of his works.
Starting in 1867, this series began to overshadow everything that other publishers brought out of Dickens.
After 1871, H.A.M Roelants became the sole publsher of Dickens' translated works. The last two pages of
the list mention the separate editions of Roelants' Dickens-editie which were not found in Het Nieuwsblad
but in Brinkman's Catalogus.
The total number of titles of books (including novels, collected stories, sketches and travel books) by
Dickens published in The Netherlands during that period of 16 years is 34, not counting the biography by
John Forster. The number of publications (including reprints and special offers) is just over 80. This
would mean an average of about 5 publications a year. The publications by Roelants taken separately
amount to 48 -this also includes the publications outside the editie or the geïllustreerde uitgave- which
gives an average of 6 publications a year, starting from 1867. Work by Dickens brought out by other
publishers - P.N. van Kampen, Van Druten en Bleeker and A.C. Kruseman are a few of them - up to
1867 give an average of about 3 publications a year. So it can be stated that Roelants moved up the
frequency with which new printings appeared. The year 1871 may be called a top year: apart from the two
publications brought out by Van Druten en Bleeker and the two (and a half) books in instalments
published by H.A.M. Roelants, at least twelve separate titles were reissued by Roelants.
The Dickens-editie of Roelants must have sold well; in Het Nieuwsblad of 13 February 1868 it can be
read that "het succes, dat ook de nieuwe Dickens editie genoot, al weer bewees, hoe deze schrijver bij ons
gewild is". In particular the phrase "al weer" is signifying. It has been mentioned before that from the
same magazine can be learned that largely owing to this edition Dickens' work was circulated in hundreds
of copies. Another sign that the series was truly successful was that Roelants started the Geïllustreerde
