In this book, Lisa Jardine assembles new research in political and social history, together with the histories of art, music, gardening and science, to show how Dutch tolerance, resourcefulness and commercial acumen had effectively conquered Britain long before William of Orange and his English wife arrived to rule in London. This is the remarkable story of the relationship between two of Europe's most important colonial powers at the dawn of the modern age. Jardine demonstrates how individuals such as Christopher Wren, Isaac Newton and successive generations of the remarkable Huygens family, usually represented as isolated geniuses working in the enclosed environment of the country of their birth, in fact developed their ideas within a context of easy Anglo-Dutch relations that laid the vital groundwork for the European Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution.--From publisher description.

England invaded by the Dutch : the conquest that never was --From invasion to Glorious Revolution : editing out the Dutch -- Royal and almost-royal families : 'how England came to be ruled by an Orange' -- Designing Dutch princely rule : the cultural diplomacy of 'Mr. Huggins' -- Auction, exchange, traffic and trickle-down : Dutch influence on English art -- Double portraits : mixed and companionate marriages -- Consorts of viols, theorbos and Anglo-Dutch voices -- Masters of all they survey : Anglo-Dutch passion for gardens and gardening -- Paradise on earth : garnering riches and bringing them home -- Anglo-Dutch exchange and the new science : a chapter of accidents -- Science under the microscope : more Anglo-Dutch misunderstandings -- Anglo-Dutch influence abroad : competition, market forces and money markets on a global scale -- Conclusion: Going Dutch.