This important new book brings to an English reading audience translations of important essays previously published by the Dutch scholar Willem J. op ‘t Hof as well as new work on the influence of English puritan writings on European and particularly Dutch Protestantism. Scholars such as Anthony Milton, Keith Sprunger, and Jeremy Bangs have previously studied the Continental dimensions of puritanism as well as the presence of puritans in the Netherlands, but this volume expands our understanding of puritanism as an international movement and of the “Further Reformation” in the Netherlands. While the emphasis is on the puritan influence on the Dutch, at various points the author addresses how those ideas also spread to Hungary and Germany.

The first essays deal with the translation of English works into Dutch. In “Known Only in Translation,” Hof examines six English puritan manuscripts that were translated into Dutch and published without ever having seen print in their original language. He discusses the Dutch clerical translators, how they might have acquired the manuscripts from the English authors, and what made those works attractive not only to the translators and the Dutch audience but also to non-Reformed Protestant readers elsewhere on the Continent. A key figure here is Willem Teelinck, who had been drawn to puritan ideas during a stay in England from 1603 to 1606. But while Teelinck has been written about by students of English puritanism, the other individuals Hof discusses—such as Daniel van Laren and Jacobus Borstius—are far less well known. The second essay asks similar questions about three works that were published first in Dutch translation but then in English. The essay on “Scribal Piety” adds to existing scholarship, such as David D. Hall's studies on the importance of manuscript transmission during the period.

The next two essays deal with the personal relationships that fostered the exchange of ideas between Dutch clergy and English puritans. In “Learned at Household Seminaries,” he takes a closer look at Dutch students who resided with English puritan clergy such as John Cotton, Thomas Gataker, and William Whately and how these students played an important part in the transmission of puritan emphases to the Continent. In the process, he provides a deeper analysis of those “seminaries” than students of English puritanism have undertaken. Another essay looks at the Dutch churches that existed in England and their role as channels between English and Dutch piety.

Additional essays examine hidden puritan content in Dutch pietist published works, such content in sermons preached by Dutch ministers, and the puritan influence exerted by English and Scots soldiers stationed in the Netherlands. Two final essays examine examples of the “Further Reformation” in the Dutch Republic. An extensive bibliography not only anchors the work but provides an extensive guide for those who wish to delve deeper into these themes.

One distraction in the volume is that the author frequently offers brief accounts of individuals whose fuller biographies are “covered in Volume II,” which is still in the process of being translated into English. When published, it promises to provide yet valuable additional material on the connections between English puritanism and the Dutch Further Reformation.

Given the insights offered on the importance of Dutch congregations and students in England, a dimension that I was surprised to find absent from The Ice Broken is treatment of English puritans, particularly Separatists, in the Netherlands. There is no treatment of the Ancient Church in Amsterdam, no discussion of Henry Jacobs during his stay in Leiden, and only one brief mention of John Robinson. But we know, for instance, that Robinson had many contacts with Dutch clergy, in particular Willem Teelinck. I suspect that further attention to such relationships would enhance the points that Hof is making.