Mayflower Bookshop

GREAT BOOKS – Hans van der Veen – Die Leiden des jungen Werthers (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)
2023-10-29 16:00 - 17:00 UTC | Mayflower Bookshop Leiden, Breestraat 70, Leiden
On Sunday, October 29th, germanist and performer Hans van der Veen will give a talk on Goethe’s famous epistolary novel Die Leiden des Jungen Werthers (The sufferings of young Werther). The novel, published in 1774, was Goethe’s first novel, and made Goethe almost overnight into one of the most famous authors. Young Werther, falls head over heels in love with Charlotte. She however chooses Albert to be her husband. Devastated by her choice, Werther borrows a pistol from Albert and kills himself. Van der Veen will not only tell us about the meaning of book in the Sturm und Drang context and the consequences of its publication in 18th century Germany, but also talk on the life on one of the most famous of German authors, Johann Wolfgang van Goethe!
So don’t miss the fifth event in Mayflower’s Great Books series and learn all this fascinating novel!

GREAT BOOKS - Coco Hoek – Dangerous Liaisons (Choderlos de Laclos)
2023-09-24 16:00 - 17:00 UTC | Mayflower Bookshop Leiden, Breestraat 70, Leiden
On Sunday September 24th, Coco Hoek will give the fourth lecture in Mayflower Bookshop’s Great Books series, featuring the famous novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses (In Dutch: Gevaarlijk spel met de liefde). Written by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, this epistolary novel was originally published in four volumes from 1782 and celebrated for its exploration of seduction, revenge and malice. The book was viewed as scandalous at the time of its publication.
Coco Hoek, who studied French in Leiden, will place this masterpiece in the context of its time, and explain to us why this novel was a ‘succès de scandale’ from the start, but will also show us its narrative power, its stylistic fire and its beauty.
What makes the book chafe to this day? Why does it still sparkle and delight a 21st century audience? What do you really need to know about the literary context to fully enjoy the book, and what, in your enthusiasm for the sparkling protagonists’ content, should you really not lose sight of anyway?
Hoek’s enticing lecture on this jewel will be illustrated by a theatrical reading, performed by Freek Bouricius and Roland de Ligny (Mayflower Theatre Company).
Get ready for a magnificent and scandalous afternoon and don’t miss this opportunity to get acquainted with this masterpiece or renew your acquaintance!

Coco Hoek is an independent tutor and tutor in French. She obtained her MA in French studies at Leiden University

PINK BOOKS with Splinter Chabot
2023-09-01 20:00 - 22:00 (Europe/Helsinki) | Mayflower Bookshop Leiden, Breestraat 70, Leiden
You are cordially invited to join us on September 1st at 8:00 PM at Mayflower Bookshop, Breestraat 70, for an extraordinary Mayflower Special: “Pink Books,” marking the essence of the first Leiden Pride. We are thrilled to host the highly acclaimed author Splinter Chabot, renowned for his best-selling novel “Confettiregen” (Confetti Rain).
Immerse yourself in the world of LGBTQ+ literature as we kick off the evening with an engaging interview with Splinter Chabot. Gain fascinating insights into his remarkable literary journey, his inspirations, and the impact of “Confettiregen” on the LGBTQ+ community.
Following the interview, prepare for an invigorating “Literary Table” discussion, where distinguished members of the Leiden LGBTQ+ community will passionately share their all-time favourite gay books. From poignant classics to contemporary gems, this captivating exchange promises to open new literary horizons and showcase the immense talent within the LGBTQ+ literary world.
After the event, don’t miss this opportunity to meet Splinter Chabot during a book signing session. Take home a signed copy of “Confettiregen” and create a cherished memory of this remarkable occasion.
Don’t miss this inspiring and unforgettable evening. Mark your calendars, invite your friends, and join us at “Pink Books” in the celebration of LGBTQ+ literature on September 1st.

GREAT BOOKS – Louis Smit – De Revisor (Nicolai Gogol)
2023-08-27 16:00 - 17:00 UTC | Mayflower Bookshop Leiden, Breestraat 70, Leiden
Hypocrisy and corruption unmasked
On Sunday August 27th, Mayflower Bookshop’s Great Books series will feature Nikolai Gogol’s play ‘The Government Inspector’ (In Dutch: De Revisor) as the third lecture in this series. Gogol (1809-1852), a Russian writer of Ukrainian origin, is known for his ingenious and often absurdist work. To this day, ‘The Government Inspector’ is successfully performed all over the world.
Louis Smit, who studied Slavic languages and literature in Leiden and Prague and collaborated on a translation of the play, will talk about Gogol’s work, which is full of satire, grotesque antics, bizarre sidetracks, and intriguing details. A retired government communications consultant, Smit will also comment on the interaction between the characters, the hypocrisy and misunderstandings that make the play timeless and hilarious. A scene from the play is performed by The Mayflower Theatre Company Both lecture and performance will be in Dutch.
After Alexander Pushkin’s death in 1837, Gogol became known as Russia’s greatest author. He was born in Ukraine, then officially called ‘Little Russia’. He wrote in Russian. For part of his life, he lived in St Petersburg, then the capital of the Russian Empire. He also lived in Germany, France and Italy for more than a decade.
Some of his work has a Ukrainian setting, such as the stories under the title ‘Evenings on a farm near Dikanka’. Another part is set in Russia: the novel ‘Dead Souls’, the story ‘Nevsky Prospekt’, ‘Diary of a Madman’ and ‘The Government Inspector’.
Don’t miss this opportunity to get acquainted with Gogol’s work or renew your acquaintance with this great author!

CANCELLED (Poetry International event)
2023-07-02 16:00 - 17:00 UTC | Mayflower Bookshop Leiden, Breestraat 70, Leiden
Unfortunately, this year’s Poetry International event at Mayflower Bookshop has been cancelled.

GREAT BOOKS – Wim Tigges – Moby Dick (Herman Melville)
2023-06-25 16:00 - 17:00 UTC | Mayflower Bookshop Leiden, Breestraat 70, Leiden
Melville’s Moby-Dick, or The Whale (1851) is an American as well as a universal epic, and a stylistic masterpiece. It is the tragic quest of the monomaniac Captain Ahab, who seeks revenge on the white whale that has bitten off his leg. The young narrator (‘Call me Ishmael’) embarks on the Pequod among a crew symbolising all the nations and persuasions of the world. As the sole survivor of a doomed voyage across all the world’s seas, he learns that man can never win the battle against nature….
Wim Tigges is anglicist and literary scholar, as well as a guest-lecturer at Leiden University and HOVO.

GREAT BOOKS - Leo van Zanen – La Divina Commedia (Dante)
2023-05-28 16:00 - 17:00 UTC | Mayflower Bookshop Leiden, Breestraat 70, Leiden
In La Divina Commedia, or The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri (Italy, 1265 – 1321) describes a journey he makes through the various departments of life after death. Over the course of 14,233 verses, he finds old friends and enemies, meets historical and mythological figures, and is shown around by his favourite writer, Virgil. And finally finds solace with his deceased lover, Beatrice. Who are all these people described by Dante? Why does this work still captivate readers after seven centuries? In what literary and historical context does this early masterpiece of Italian and European literature stand?
Leo van Zanen is poet and performer as well as translator of poetry from many languages into Dutch. He is guest-lecturer on varied literary subjects (mainly poetry) at many libraries and bookshops all over the region.

Shakespeare Festival
2023-04-23 12:00 - 17:30 UTC | Mayflower Bookshop Leiden, Breestraat 70, Leiden
2023 marks the fourth centennial of the publication of the ‘First Folio’, which was published in 1623, seven years after the death of William Shakespeare. This collection of 36 of Shakespeare’s works brought together by two of his friends, John Heminges and Henry Condell under the full title of:
Mr. VVilliam Shakespeares comedies, histories, & tragedies. Published according to the true originall copies.
As a tribute to their friend, Heminges and Condell wanted to put forward the best possible version of Shakespeare’s plays, so they used original prompt books, quartos, and original notes to collate the final collection.
Mayflower Bookshop celebrates this milestone with a Shakespeare Festival on Sunday April 23rd, the day on which the Bard died and also the date that might very well have been his birth date as well!
The festival will take up all afternoon, starting at noon exactly and will cover multiple aspects of his work including the sonnets, originally published in 1609 and a memorial.
We will kick-off the festival with a lecture by Dr. Wim Tigges, frequent speaker at Mayflower Bookshop, who will talk on genderfluidity in Shakespeare.
This lecture will be followed by the performance of two scenes from the comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor, played by The Mayflower Theatre Company (Suze Hageman and Esther Straathof) under direction of house-director Sigrid de Zwart.
At 14.00, Leo van Zanen gives a talk on Shakespeare’s Sugar’d Sonnets and musician Willem Vermaase will illustrate this lecture by playing a few Shakespearean songs. Leo, a frequent guest-lecturer as well, will subsequently lead a walk to ‘Sonnet 30’ where, as a tribute to The Bard, this poem will be recited in English and Dutch and a short memorial ceremony will take place.
At 16.00, Tony Foster, lecturer at Leiden University (English culture and literature) will delight you with atalk on law practice as portrayed in The Merchant of Venice after which the Mayflower Theatre Company will conclude the afternoon with a performance of a few scenes from the tragey Macbeth, played by Freek Bouricius and Simme van de Lustgraaf, under direction of guest-director Herman Duchenne.
The complete programme can be found here.
In the meantime, to whet your appetite, please visit the exhibition ‘Gesuikerde sonnetten’ (Sugar’d sonnets) in the B+C library, organized by Leo van Zanen. More information: https://www.bplusc.nl/agenda/gesuikerde-sonnetten/
We hope to welcome you all in April 23rd!

International Children’s Book Day: Winnie-the-Pooh
2023-04-02 16:00 - 17:00 UTC | Mayflower Bookshop Leiden, Breestraat 70, Leiden
To celebrate International Children’s Book Day, Mayflower Bookshop organises a lecture on the famous Winnie-the-Pooh, hero of the books by A.A. Milne. Who hasn’t grown up with Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger, Rabbit, Kanga and Roe? Who doesn’t remember phrases such as: ‘It’s time for a little something’ and “I am not lost, for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost.”
But although the books on Winnie-the-Pooh are children’s books, yet at the same time they’re adult literature too. Wim Tigges will talk at length on the magical world of Winnie-the-Pooh, so don’t miss this event and journey with us to the Hundred Acre Wood, where anything may happen…

Bookweek 2023: Maxim Osipov in Mayflower Bookshop
2023-03-12 16:00 - 17:00 UTC | Mayflower Bookshop Leiden, Breestraat 70, Leiden
To celebrate Bookweek 2023 (March 11 – 19) Mayflower Bookshop is proud to welcome Maxim Osipov on Sunday March 12 for an interview on his recently published book Kilometer 101, followed by a signing session.
In March 2022, after criticizing the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian author and cardiologist Maxim Osipov fled Russia. First to Armenia (where Russians can go without a visa), followed by a flight to Berlin where he spent three months. Since last September he is guest lecturer at Leiden University, teaching a course on Russian short stories. Osipov won several literary prizes for his work in Russia, and his short stories, novellas, essays and plays have been translated into over a dozen languages including English and Dutch.
Kilometer 101, his new new collection of short stories and sketches is still gaining daily urgency. Deception, political pressure, discrimination, poverty and booze, ubiquitous corruption, the increasing need to emigrate and the fear of leaving one’s home, as well as generational conflicts, are woven into this work in the same way that they are woven into the lives of Osipov’s fellow Russians. The 101st kilometre (Russian: 101-й километр, sto pervyy kilometr) is a colloquial phrase for restrictions on freedom of movement in the Soviet Union.
Mayflower Bookshop will interview Osipov on his reasons for his flight from Russia, his visiting lectureship and naturally on his previous work and on Kilometer 101.
Don’t want to miss this opportunity? Please book your reservation if you want to be seated! Send an email to freek@mayflowerbookshop.nl by Wednesday March 8th at the latest.
Sunday March 12, 2023, 16.00. Mayflower Bookshop, Breestraat 70, Leiden. Admission: free.
Photo: Yolanda Bloemen

Poetry Week Event: Burns’ Night
2023-01-29 16:00 - 17:00 UTC
Sunday January 29th, 16h00 – Breestraat 70
Traditionally, Dutch Poetry Week is celebrated in Mayflower Bookshop with a poetry event on the last Sunday of January. This year, Mayflower Bookshop marks the theme of Poetry Week 2023 (friendship) by marking the occasion of Burns’ Night on Sunday January 29th.
Held throughout the world on January 25th (or on a date close to it) Burns’ Night is an event that celebrates the work and life of Robert Burns (born on January 25th 1795), Scotland’s national poet. The first Burns’ Night was initiated in July 1801 when nine of Burns’ close friends got together to mark the fifth anniversary of their friend’s death. Taking place at Burns Cottage in Alloway, the night included a tasty meal (haggis, of course!), performances of Burns’ work and a speech in honour of the great Bard (now known as the Immortal Memory). The night was such a resounding success they decided to hold it again (this time in honour of Rabbie’s birthday), beginning a tradition that is still celebrated by Scots all over the world.
During the Mayflower Burns’ Night, Leo van Zanen will focus on translations of Burns’ work, while Adrian Young will concentrate on Burn’s life and the importance of his work. Folkband ‘Fiddle & Drum will play a nummer of Burns’ ballads and other Scots songs. Also the event will be featuring the reading of some of Burn’s poems.
Don’t miss the Mayflower Burns’ Night!

A Christmas Carol
2022-12-22 19:30 - 20:30 UTC | Mayflower Bookshop Leiden, Breestraat 70, Leiden
Freek Bouricius reads Dickens’s Christmas classic, first published in 1843. This timeless tale recounts the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. After their visits, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man.

Dinner for One (second performance)
2022-12-18 16:00 - 16:15 UTC | Mayflower Bookshop Leiden, Breestraat 70, Leiden
After two year’s absence due to the coronavirus, Dinner for One performed by the Mayflower Theatre Company makes a happy return, featuring Freek Bouricius as Miss Sophie and Roland de Ligny as James, under direction of Sigrid de Zwart.

Dinner for One (first performance)
2022-12-18 14:00 - 14:15 UTC | Mayflower Bookshop Leiden, Breestraat 70, Leiden

Mayflower Masterclass: Madness in Literature
2022-11-27 16:00 - 17:00 UTC | Mayflower Bookshop Leiden, Breestraat 70, Leiden
COMING UP: Mayflower Masterclass: Madness in Literature*
On November 27th, Mayflower Bookshop presents a pilot: Mayflower Masterclass, a new format, in which an expert in a specific field leads the discussion on a theme in literature. Attendants of the masterclass are asked to read a book of their own choice on this theme in advance and present a short summary in class.
Prof. dr. Ad Kaptein, psychologist, researcher, and author of numerous publications on illness in literature, kicks off this new format with a masterclass on madness in literature. As moderator, he will launch the session by presenting some theoretical notions on how psychiatry is depicted in novels and on how psychiatric problems have been represented in psychiatry over time, as well as outlining some ‘classical’ novels in the psychiatry & madness field. After this introduction, the participants are asked to present a short summary (1-3 minutes) of the novel of their choice. The session will conclude with a discussion, led by Kaptein.
Interested? Please select an (international) novel (translations in Dutch are allowed!) that focuses on ‘psychiatry in novels’ (e.g. The Bell Jarr (Sylvia Plath), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (Mark Haddon)):

The main character suffers from psychiatric problems,
Psychiatric problems form a major part of the novel,
The author is a psychiatrist.

If you’d like to attend, please send an email to freek@mayflowerbookshop.nl before November 21st, stating your name and the title of the book you wish to discuss.
*this event will be entirely in Dutch

Skinner in Noordwijk: the diary of an English boy
2022-10-30 16:00 - 17:00 UTC | Mayflower Bookshop Leiden, Breestraat 70, Leiden
Prof. dr. Paul Hoftijzer talks on his recently published book: Skinner in Noordwijk, a diary of an English boy at boarding school in Noordwijk at the end of the 18th century.

The Invention of Scotland – Scottish literature in a nutshell
2022-09-18 16:00 - 17:00 UTC | Mayflower Bookshop Leiden, Breestraat 70, Leiden
Orignally hailing from Scotland himself, avid St Pieter’s Church guide and devoted Commissioner of the Leiden 3 October Vereeniging Adrian Young will give a talk (in Dutch) on Scots literature.
An independent kingdom until 1707, when it united with Engeland into the new state of Great Britain, Scotland has not only a long history, but a history with a significant literary tradition in its two languages: Gaelic Scots and Scots English, bringing forth both magnificent poems (Robert Burns, William Dunbar) and outstanding novels (Sir Walter Scott). Young will talk at length on the history, culture and literature of Scotland, not forgetting modern Scots authors such as Alexander McCall Smith.
So dip into Scotland with us and let Young take you on a journey that you will never forget!

‘You know my methods, Watson’ - Sherlock Holmes and the English detective novel
2022-08-28 16:00 - 17:30 UTC | Mayflower Bookshop Leiden, Breestraat 70, Leiden
Dr. Wim Tigges gives a talk on the brilliant fictional detective character Sherlock Holmes, created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and his place within the history of the English detective novel. The event will be concluded by the performance of a characteristic passage from ‘The Blue Carbuncle’, played by Freek Bouricius and Simme van de Lustgraaf (Mayflower Theatre Company)

Mayflower special: Writing from Viet Nam
2022-06-26 16:00 - 17:30 UTC | Mayflower Bookshop XTRA, Breestraat 66, Leiden
Visiting poet: Nhã Thuyên
We are very happy to welcome to Mayflower Bookshop Vietnamese poet Nhã Thuyên, this year’s Poet in Residence at the 52nd edition of Poetry International (June 10 – 12). Since its first edition in 1970, the Poetry International Festival in Rotterdam has grown into one of the biggest poetry festivals in the world. For several days, you can listen to some of the best poets in the world, read their poems and participate in debates and special programmes.
Nhã Thuyên was appointed lecturer in Vietnamese literature at the University of Hanoi in 2012, on the basis of her dissertation on four activist Vietnamese poets, but after a wave of propaganda prompted by the tightening of the country’s political regime she was fired in 2014, and she was stripped of her Master’s title. This simply served to strengthen the critical attitude she had already revealed in her ideas and in her writing. Nhã Thuyên chooses a very wide range of subjects and perspectives. Often an attempt to get a grip on a situation in an everyday environment, amidst a flow of associations, by acting, speaking and by responding to and reflecting on the risks of that action. Her poems also express a longing to be boundless and intangible. The language is playful, dynamic and gives the poems momentum, producing a gripping result of insistent poetic quality. Her poems have been translated into English by Kaitlin Rees.
Nhã Thuyên will be interviewed by Mayflower Bookshop’s Freek Bouricius, after which she will recite some of her poems. The afternoon will conclude with a signing session and afterparty. A must for every poetry lover!
June 26 – 16.00 – Mayflower Bookshop XTRA
*This event will be entirely in English

Annual Mayflower Bookshop Shakespeare Event
2022-04-24 16:00 - 17:00 UTC | Mayflower Bookshop XTRA, Breestraat 66, Leiden
Op 24 april a.s. hervat Mayflower Bookshop haar jaarlijkse herdenking van de grootste Engelse dichter aller tijden, William Shakespeare, ook wel bekend als The Bard.
Ter nagedachtenis aan zijn sterfdag op 23 april 1616 organiseert Mayflower Bookshop samen met dichter Leo van Zanen een kranslegging en voordracht bij het Muurgedicht ‘Sonnet XXX’, geplaatst door Stichting TEGEN-BEELD op de muur van Houtstraat/ hoek Rapenburg (tegenover het Rijksmuseum van Oudheden.
Belangstellenden kunnen zich om 16.00 melden in Mayflower Bookshop XTRA, Breestraat 66. Van daaruit vindt er een wandeling plaats naar Sonnet 30, waar, na de kranslegging, een voordracht plaatsvindt in het Engels en het Nederlands van het gedicht. Na terugkomst in de boekhandel houdt Van Zanen een korte lezing.
Mayflower Bookshop EXTRA, Breestraat 66, Leiden. Aanvang: 16.00. Toegang: gratis.

Boekenweek Special: Leo van Zanen on his latest volume of verse 'De bezoeker'
2022-04-18 16:00 - 17:00 UTC | Mayflower Bookshop XTRA, Breestraat 66, Leiden
On Monday April 18th, the book presentation of ‘ De Bezoeker’, the latest volume of verse published by regular guest-lecturer and poet Leo van Zanen ends the Boekenweek. Leo will be interviewed by his lifelong friend, communications consultant and poetry lover Louis Smit. Louis will interview Leo on all aspects of his poetry, not forgetting the translations Leo has also carried out, and seeking the answer to who or what was Leo’s first love! Can you guess?
After the interview, Leo will sign his book for you, so don’t miss the opportunity of obtaining a signed copy of this unique volume of verse!

Boekenweek Special: Dr. Wim Tigges on his book 'Hartstocht achter de horren'
2022-04-10 16:00 - 17:00 UTC | Mayflower Bookshop XTRA, Breestraat 66, Leiden

St. Patrick’s Day Celebration: an Irish afternoon at Mayflower Bookshop
2022-03-20 15:30 - 17:00 UTC | Mayflower Bookshop XTRA, Breestraat 66, Leiden
St. Patrick’s Day Celebration: an Irish afternoon at Mayflower Bookshop
Featuring:
Lecture by dr. Wim Tigges
Live music by ‘Fiddle ‘n Drum’
Don’t miss our celebration of St. Patrick’s Day with a talk by dr. Wim Tigges (in Dutch) taking you on a journey through Irish literature against the background of the green island; a journey covering many miles, traveling from Clonmacnoise to Dublin and from Maria Edgeworth to Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill.
The event will also feature live music by the Alphen-based folkband Fiddle ’n Drum!
Don’t miss this special event at our new location: Mayflower Bookshop Extra, just across the street!
Sunday March 20 – Mayflower Bookshop Xtra – Breestraat 66 – 15.30

The Courtship of Miles Standish
2021-10-31 16:00 - 18:00 UTC
Leo van Zanen, poet & performer
Freek Bouricius, Suze Hageman, Esther Straathof, actors
Roland de Ligny – storyteller
Sigrid de Zwart – director
