The Shaping of Turkey in the British Imagination, 1776–1923

Download or read book The Shaping of Turkey in the British Imagination, 1776–1923 written by David S. Katz and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-09-23 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is about the principal writings that shaped the perception of Turkey for informed readers in English, from Edward Gibbon’s positing of imperial Decline and Fall to the proclamation of the Turkish Republic (1923), illustrating how Turkey has always been a part of the modern British and European experience. It is a great sweep of a story: from Gibbon as standard textbook, through Lord Bryon the pro-Turkish poet, and Benjamin Disraeli the Romantic novelist of all things Eastern, followed by John Buchan's Greenmantle First World War espionage fantasies, and then Manchester Guardian reporter Arnold Toynbee narrating the fight for Turkish independence.