Donna Merwick is Visiting Fellow at the Center for Cross-Cultural Research, Australian National University. Her most recent book is Possessing Albany, 1630-1710: The Dutch and English Experiences.

A thoughtful examination of the roles played by writers and researchers, ruminating on the pawns that such average citizens can become both of history and of historians.(Library Journal Academic Newsletter) A gem of a book.... The author describes Janse's notarial career as a matter of 'nearsighted work. And the metaphor applies to her own efforts as well... as Death of a Notary is a strikingly successful example of... microhistory. Merwick is, at the same time, an expert storyteller, one who can piece together her admittedly fragmentary evidence in compelling, sometimes surprising ways.- John Demos (Washington Times) Merwick presents a complex and fascinating account of van Ilpendam's career and daily life in late 17th-century Albany.... A major work of scholarship.(AB Bookman's Weekly) Ms. Merwick's careful, moving reconstruction of Janse's life and death shows what happens when a person who lives by words finds those he knows no longer suffice.(The Chronicle of Higher Education) Not only will specialists find the book useful in the debate over Dutch-English influence in New York, but it is a good beginning for the general reader seeking to understand the state. Above all, however, Death of a Notary is a rare commodity for a history book—a good story told well.- Don Roper (History) This outstanding contribution to Colonial social history is highly recommended for all undergraduate and graduate history collections.(Choice)

Donna Merwick is Visiting Fellow at the Center for Cross-Cultural Research, Australian National University. Her most recent book is Possessing Albany, 1630-1710: The Dutch and English Experiences.

A thoughtful examination of the roles played by writers and researchers, ruminating on the pawns that such average citizens can become both of history and of historians.(Library Journal Academic Newsletter) A gem of a book.... The author describes Janse's notarial career as a matter of 'nearsighted work. And the metaphor applies to her own efforts as well... as Death of a Notary is a strikingly successful example of... microhistory. Merwick is, at the same time, an expert storyteller, one who can piece together her admittedly fragmentary evidence in compelling, sometimes surprising ways.- John Demos (Washington Times) Merwick presents a complex and fascinating account of van Ilpendam's career and daily life in late 17th-century Albany.... A major work of scholarship.(AB Bookman's Weekly) Ms. Merwick's careful, moving reconstruction of Janse's life and death shows what happens when a person who lives by words finds those he knows no longer suffice.(The Chronicle of Higher Education) Not only will specialists find the book useful in the debate over Dutch-English influence in New York, but it is a good beginning for the general reader seeking to understand the state. Above all, however, Death of a Notary is a rare commodity for a history book—a good story told well.- Don Roper (History) This outstanding contribution to Colonial social history is highly recommended for all undergraduate and graduate history collections.(Choice)

Donna Merwick is Visiting Fellow at the Center for Cross-Cultural Research, Australian National University. Her most recent book is Possessing Albany, 1630-1710: The Dutch and English Experiences.

A thoughtful examination of the roles played by writers and researchers, ruminating on the pawns that such average citizens can become both of history and of historians.(Library Journal Academic Newsletter) A gem of a book.... The author describes Janse's notarial career as a matter of 'nearsighted work. And the metaphor applies to her own efforts as well... as Death of a Notary is a strikingly successful example of... microhistory. Merwick is, at the same time, an expert storyteller, one who can piece together her admittedly fragmentary evidence in compelling, sometimes surprising ways.- John Demos (Washington Times) Merwick presents a complex and fascinating account of van Ilpendam's career and daily life in late 17th-century Albany.... A major work of scholarship.(AB Bookman's Weekly) Ms. Merwick's careful, moving reconstruction of Janse's life and death shows what happens when a person who lives by words finds those he knows no longer suffice.(The Chronicle of Higher Education) Not only will specialists find the book useful in the debate over Dutch-English influence in New York, but it is a good beginning for the general reader seeking to understand the state. Above all, however, Death of a Notary is a rare commodity for a history book—a good story told well.- Don Roper (History) This outstanding contribution to Colonial social history is highly recommended for all undergraduate and graduate history collections.(Choice)