Islam and the Victorians: Nineteenth Century Perceptions of Muslim Practices and Beliefs (Library of Middle East History)

This book brings to life Victorian Britain's conceptions and misconceptions of the Muslim World using a thorough investigation of varied cultural sources of the period. She discovers the prevailing representation of Muslims and Islam in the two major spheres of British influence - India and the Ottoman Empire - was reinforced by reoccurring themes: through literature and entertainment the public saw ""the Mahomedan"" as the ""noble savage"", a perception reinforced through travel writing and fiction of the ""exotic east"" and the ""Arabian Nights"".