BUSKEN HUET, CONRAD

(1826–1886)

   Man of letters. After studying theology in Leiden, Busken Huet was active as minister of the Reformed (Walloon) Church at Haarlem. In 1862, he left the church and became a member of the editorial staff of the famous cultural periodical De Gids [The Guide, established in 1837] at the invitation of one of the founders, Ever(h)ardus Potgieter (1808–1875). Because of two of his critical articles, Busken Huet and Potgieter left the liberal-minded board. In 1868, Busken Huet left for the Netherlands East Indies, where he became the editor of the daily Javabode and the Algemeen Dagblad van Nederlandsch Indie. In 1876, he returned to Europe and settled in Paris. Busken Huet published some popular cultural histories on the Netherlands (Het land van Rembrandt, 1882–1884; Het land van Rubens, 1879), many political essays of a conservative nature, and numerous critical essays on Dutch and European letters (collected as Litterarische fantasien en kritieken, 25 vols., 1881–1888).