Jan Janszoon Struys

Jan Janszoon Struys (1630-1694) was a Dutch explorer whose account of his world travels, The perillous and most unhappy voyages of John Struys, was published in Amsterdam in 1676. Struys was most likely illiterate and the book was produced with the help of a ghostwriter, but the publishers deemed it more profitable to have Struys on the title page as an author. The book indeed became a bestseller, and is also of worth in assessing events and customs outside Western Europe, including Russia and parts Asia, and gives insight into marketing strategies in the publishing industry of the late 17th century.