Max Drenth Back

Max Drenth studied Philosophy, Art History and Law. He was awarded a doctorate for a thesis on the problems surrounding academic specialization, and has since focused on administrative and societal developments with regard to ethics and law. He was member of the committee that designed the cultural canon of the Netherlands, as commissioned by the Minister of Education, Culture and Science.

After several appointments at Dutch universities he now works freelance as an essayist and a researcher; and has published essays on safety, globalization, citizenship and standards – and on literature and art.

Under his pen name Maxim Februari he writes a Tuesday column for NRC Handelsblad, often on the subject of justice and morality. His debut novel, (De zonen van het uitzicht (The Sons of the View), was published in 1989. A recent novel, De literaire kring, has been translated in English (The Book Club, London: Quercus).