Islam as Imagined in Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century English Literature

Clinton Bennett author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd

Published:29th Nov '22

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Islam as Imagined in Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century English Literature cover

Since medieval times, English literature has often demonized Muslims. The term ‘Islamophobia’ is recent, but the phenomenon is old. This survey of literature focusing on the modern period up to 1914 identifies negative ideas about Islam in novels and plays. Some works are iconic, some more obscure. However, the book highlights writers who challenged stereotypes and tended to see Muslims as equally capable of virtue and vice as Christians and others. The book deals with the role of the imagination in depicting others and how this serves authors’ agendas. The conclusion brings the book’s thesis into dialogue with the debate in the USA today between supporters of multiculturalism and its critics. Anyone interested in how stereotypes are formed, perpetuated and can be challenged will profit from this book. It is aimed at a non-specialist readership.

ISBN: 9780367714536

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 453g

180 pages