Andre de Vries explores the varied landmarks of Flanders, both rural and urban, to reveal this region's unique character. Considering great cities such as Ghent, Antwerp, and Bruges, he traces the development of a civic culture based on both trade and ideas, in which religion and language play a vital part. Looking too at the Flemish countryside, he explains the role of festivals and folk culture, gluttony and pleasure, in the survival of a strongly local identity.

André de Vries, a native of Ghent, is a writer and translator with a particular interest in Flemish. He is also the author of Brussels: A Cultural and Literary History.