Description
Book SynopsisThis book examines Anglo-Italian political and cultural relations and analyses the importance of religion in the British 'Orientalist' perception of Italy. It puts religion at the centre of a harsh political and cultural war, one that was fought on international, diplomatic, and domestic levels.
Trade Review“Raponi’s monograph improves our understanding of the British enthusiasm for the Risorgimento by exploring how religion and politics fused together when Italian affairs were on the agenda. … Raponi has consulted a very impressive range of sources. … The book is beautifully written, Raponi’s style being lively and engaging.” (Owain Wright, Journal of Religious History Literature and Culture Reviews, June, 2016)
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Britain and Italy, Religion and Politics 1. Italy as the 'European India': British Orientalism, Cultural Imperialism, and Anti-Catholicism, c. 1850-1870 2. British Missionary Societies in Italy: Evangelising a Hostile Land, 1850-1862 3. Religion and Foreign Policy: From Unification to the 'Desperate Folly' of the Syllabus (1861-1864) 4. British Missionary Societies in Italy: Searching the Soul of the New Nation, 1862-1872 5. Protestant Foreign Policy and the Last Years of the Roman Question, 1865-1875 Conclusion: 'Great' because Protestant, 'Oriental' because Catholic
