Review--Imperfect Sympathies: Jews and Judaism in British Romantic Literature and Culture

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Imperfect Sympathies: Jews and Judaism in British Romantic Literature and CultureImperfect Sympathies: Jews and Judaism in British Romantic Literature and Culture by Judith Page
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fascinating glimpse into the changing view of Jews in British literature, using the acting of Kean's Shylock and the portrayal of Rebecca in Ivanhoe to illustrate how the image of the Jew was changed as writers and poets modified their views of what the Jews were and what they represented.

However, as the title says, the efforts were imperfect, and some of the writing contributed to existing stereotypes, or replaced them with other, not always appropriate or positive images.

It's an academic tome, but of interest to anyone who's a scholar of Jewish history, particularly in the 19th C. English speaking lands.


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