This book examines the relationship between the British Empire and Victorian literature. It explains how Victorian literature both gave expression to pro-imperialist themes, and engaged with forms of opposition to the empire like abolitionism and early Indian nationalism. Victorian literature is analyzed in relation to key debates in postcolonial studies about Orientalism, race, gender, Marxism, subalterneity, imperial historiography, mimicry and representation. And there are in-depth examinations of works by major Victorian authors in an imperial context, notably those of Dickens, Charlotte...

This book examines the relationship between the British Empire and Victorian literature. It explains how Victorian literature both gave expression to pro-imperialist themes, and engaged with forms of opposition to the empire like abolitionism and early Indian nationalism. Victorian literature is analyzed in relation to key debates in postcolonial studies about Orientalism, race, gender, Marxism, subalterneity, imperial historiography, mimicry and representation. And there are in-depth examinations of works by major Victorian authors in an imperial context, notably those of Dickens, Charlotte...

This volume provides a comprehensive introduction to postcolonial medieval studies and examines the historical connections between postcolonial studies and medieval studies. Lisa Lampert-Weissig provides new readings of medieval texts including Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, Mandeville's Travels and Guillaume de Palerne, a romance about werewolves set in Norman Sicily. In addition, she examines Walter Scott's Ivanhoe from the perspective of postcolonial medieval studies, as well contemporary novels by Salman Rushdie, Tariq Ali, Juan Goytisolo, and Amitav Ghosh.