Dekker, Eduard Douwes [key], 1820–87, Dutch novelist. His experiences in the Dutch colonial service in Java (1838–57) made him an ardent advocate of reform in colonial administration and were the inspiration of Max Havelaar (1860, tr. 1868, 1927), which satirized the grasping spirit, the religion, morals, and government of the Dutch bourgeoisie. His unsparing criticism had tremendous effect in a Holland that had grown intellectually lethargic.
See D. H. Lawrence's introduction to Siebenhaar's translation of Max Havelaar (1927).
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