Islam as Imagined in Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century English Literature

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 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 with 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 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.