The Boundless River

Stories from the Realm of the Rhine

By: Mathijs Deen

Write A Review

Paperback | 3 July 2025 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback
320 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
12.9 x 19.8 x 2.3

Paperback

$34.75

or 4 interest-free payments of $8.69 with

or

Ships in 15 to 25 business days

"A joy to read" Times Literary Supplement

"[A] stirring and accessible history of the mighty Rhine" Irish Times

"It's easy to be swept away by Deen's delightful prose" New Statesman

"A beautiful book, by turns poetic, witty and full of learning " PATRICK McGUINNESS

The Boundless River takes the reader into a unique world ? the twilight zone between fact and fiction, science and imagination ? and on a journey which moves effortlessly from a time in prehistory, long before the existence of a European continent, to the present day. Along the way Deen encounters paleontologists, geologists, museum curators, taxidermists, fishermen and skippers who work the boats, who still see the Rhine as a living entity.

From the mighty hippos that swam in its waters millions of years ago, to the weary salmon that saw their habitat slowly change and the aurochs that grazed its shores; from the primordial Steinheim Woman to the Roman general Corbulo who commanded settlements along its delta, to a young Goethe: in all of their stories the Rhine is ever present, sometimes as the main character, sometimes as an extra, as a theatre of war, a border between nations, a bathing spot, a killer, a vital transport route.

Beautifully fluid, rich and captivating, The Boundless River shows how the Rhine connects and divides, terrifies, comforts, carries and swallows, and has done since the beginning of time.

Translated from the Dutch by Jane Hedley-Prole and Jonathan Reeder

Industry Reviews

It's easy to be swept away by Deen's delightful prose . . . In his conclusion, Deen notes that geology makes him feel "small and arbitrary" and "surprised by my surroundings". It's to his credit that The Boundless River has a similar effect on the reader - New Statesman

Affectionate and eccentric . . . The Boundless River is as intimate a portrait of a river as you'll find without getting wet - Financial Times

Fluidly translated by Jane Headley-Prole and Jonathan Reeder, Mathijs Deen's prose is much like the river it describes: boldly genre-crossing, it gushes and cascades. The Boundless River is a joy to read, not least because it renders geological time so palpable . . . An ever-shifting reminder of ancient time, the author's Rhine puts us humans firmly in our temporal place - Times Literary Supplement

Shipping

	Standard Shipping	Express Shipping
Metro postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Regional postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Rural postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95

Orders over $49.00 qualify for free shipping.

How to return your order

At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.

Additional postage charges may be applicable.

Defective items

If there is a problem with any of the items received for your order then the Booktopia Customer Care team is ready to assist you.

For more info please visit our Help Centre.

More in European History

Suicidal Empathy

Dying to Be Kind

Paperback

RRP $34.99

$28.75

18%
OFF

Talking Classics

The Shock of the Old

Hardcover

RRP $36.99

$29.99

19%
OFF

A Kingdom and a Village

A One-Thousand-Year History of Moscow

Hardcover

RRP $59.99

$45.75

24%
OFF

The Shortest History of Scotland

Paperback

RRP $27.99

$23.75

15%
OFF

Abandoned Women : Scottish Convicts Exiled Beyond the Seas

Paperback

RRP $24.99

$21.75

13%
OFF

1177 B.C.

The Year Civilization Collapsed: Revised and Updated

Paperback

$32.75

The Boundless River

Stories from the Realm of the Rhine

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

More in European History

Suicidal Empathy

Dying to Be Kind

Talking Classics

The Shock of the Old

A Kingdom and a Village

A One-Thousand-Year History of Moscow

The Shortest History of Scotland

Abandoned Women : Scottish Convicts Exiled Beyond the Seas

The Voynich Manuscript

On the Shortness of Life

The Stoic Classic

Divide & Rule

Royal Women and their Battles

Putin's People

How the KGB Took Back Russia and then Took On the West

The Anarchy

The Relentless Rise of the East India Company

The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition

Penguin Modern Classics

Revenge

Meghan, Harry and the war between the Windsors

The Children of Ash and Elm

A History of the Vikings

The Lives of the Caesars

Battle of the Arctic

The Maritime Epic of World War Two

The Man Who Stopped the Sultan

Gabriele Tadino and the Defence of Europe

A History of France in 21 Women

History in 21 Women

The Remarkable Mrs Reibey

The convict who became Australia's richest businesswoman

Rasputin

And the Downfall of the Romanovs

The Gulag Archipelago

(Abridged edition)

The World of Scandals at Court

A 1000 Piece Puzzle

Stay Alive

Berlin, 1939-1945

Strange New World

Belsen's First Year of Freedom

1177 B.C.

The Year Civilization Collapsed: Revised and Updated

This product is categorised by