At the outbreak of the First World War he fled to England, working as a journalist, biographer and translator, and became London editor of Nieuwe Courant,[4] began his PhD at University College in 1921, completing his doctoral thesis on 19th century Anglo-Dutch relations in 1930, under Pieter Geyl. In 1939, Renier was a BBC contract staff member.[4] In 1936, he succeeded Geyl as Reader in Dutch History at University College London, retiring in 1957.[5]
In contrast to his former advisor, Geyl, he took the view that Dutch and Belgian nationhood were highly distinct.[citation needed]
Personal life
On 17 May 1923, he married the Irish novelist Kate O'Brien, but the marriage ended within a year, and divorced 1925.[6] O'Brien left Bilbao after less than a year, returning to London because of her sudden decision to marry Renier, the marriage only lasted eleven months.[7]
Works
Great Britain and the Establishment of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (1930)
^Genealogy page. Both biographies erroneously describe Renier's mother as Walloon. Both his grandfathers were from Ostend, West Flanders, his grandmothers were locals from Flushing and Middelburg.
^Bury, J. P. T. (April 1947). "The Criterion of Dutch Nationhood. An Inaugural Lecture delivered at University College, London, on June 4, 1945, by Professor G. J. Renier". International Affairs. 23 (2): 262–262. doi:10.2307/3018931.