'Romanticism had its roots in fantasy and fed on myth'. This book analyses the Romantic vision of the Orient from Ottoman Turkey, through the Middle East, including Egypt and Persia, to the Vale of Kashmir - fascination with the exotic Orient mixed with distaste for despotic rule.
In the eyes of English Romantics, Italy was not a nation but 'Italia', a place inhabited by the ancient. Theirs was a view shaped by the Grand Tour, which elevated ancient Roman culture to an artistic and historical ideal. This book provides a picture of pre-unification Italy, struggling to recover after Napoleon and edging towards Risorgimento.
Before unification, Germany was a loose collection of variously sovereign principalities, nurtured on deep thought, fine music and hard rye bread. It was known across Europe for the plentiful supply of consorts to be found among its abundant royalty, but the language and culture was largely incomprehensible to those outside its lands. In the long eighteenth and nineteenth centuries- between the end of the Thirty Years War in 1648 and unification under Bismarck in 1871 - Germany became the land of philosophers, poets, writers and composers. This particularly German cultural movement was able to survive the avalanche of Napoleonic conquest and exploitation and its impact was gradually felt far beyond Germany's borders. In this book, Roderick Cavaliero provides a fascinating overview of Germany's cultural zenith in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He considers the work of Germany's own artistic exports - the literature of Goethe and Grimm, the music of Wagner, Schumann, Mendelssohn and Bach and the philosophy of Schiller and Kant - as well as the impact of Germany on foreign visitors from Coleridge to Thackeray and from Byron to Disraeli. Providing a comprehensive and highly-readable account of Germany's cultural life from Frederick the Great to Bismarck, 'Genius, Power and Magic' is fascinating reading for anyone interested in European history and cultural history.
The book explores the multifaceted role of the British in India, detailing their evolution from adventurers to traders and ultimately rulers. It examines their influence over various aspects of Indian life, including district administration, law enforcement, military operations, trade, education, and cultural interactions. Additionally, the narrative addresses the British relationships with princely states and foreign powers, providing a comprehensive view of colonial governance and its implications for Indian society.