Alexander the Great from Britain to Southeast Asia
Peripheral Empires in the Global Renaissance
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press
Published:8th Apr '19
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
No figure has had a more global impact than Alexander the Great, whose legends have encircled the globe and been translated into a dizzying multitude of languages, from Indo-European and Semitic to Turkic and Austronesian. Alexander the Great from Britain to Southeast Asia examines parallel traditions of the Alexander Romance in Britain and Southeast Asia, demonstrating how rival Alexanders - one Christian, the other Islamic - became central figures in their respective literatures. In the early modern age of exploration, both Britain and Southeast Asia turned to literary imitations of Alexander to imagine their own empires and international relations, defining themselves as peripheries against the Ottoman Empire's imperial center: this shared classical inheritance became part of an intensifying cross-cultural engagement in the encounter between the two, allowing a revealing examination of their cultural convergences and imperial rivalries and a remapping of the global literary networks of the early modern world. Rather than absolute alterity or strangeness, the narrative of these parallel traditions is one of contact - familiarity and proximity, unexpected affinity and intimate strangers.
Alexander the Great from Britain to Southeast Asia is engaging, well-written and thoroughly researched. Readers will find Ng an able guide to various historical and literary contexts, as well as a clear articulator of the theoretical underpinnings of her approach. * Erika Valdivieso, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *
A valuable contribution to scholarship on classical reception. ... Highly recommended * CHOICE *
On the whole, Alexander the Great from Britain to Southeast Asia is a superb piece of scholarship, a welcome addition to reception studies of Alexander the Great. It delves into areas that such works have previously noted but never before penetrated to such depths. Ng's research is extensive, taking full advantage of available material produced by a wealth of scholars...The book will serve as a useful tool for students and professional researchers interested in the legacy of Alexander along with colonialism, empire, and the history of trade between East and West. * K. R. Moore, Journal of British Studies *
In short, Su Fang Ng's marvelous book makes the Renaissance truly, finally global. * Gordon Prize 2020 from the Renaissance Society of America *
... this volume represents a significant contribution to the study of Alexander's literary trajectory as an absolute protagonist of Eurasian cosmographical, social and political reflection from Antiquity to the Modern Era. * Mario Casari, Sapienza Università di Roma, Eurasian Studies *
Alexander the Great from Britain to Southeast Asia is a book explicitly designed to participate in current debates regarding the Global Renaissance and work on nodes and networks of trade and cultural exchange throughout the early modern period. It is an important reference point, and it is unquestionably a thorough and highly sophisticated piece of literary history. * Vincent Barletta, Modern Philology *
- Winner of Winner of the Phyllis Goodhart Gordan Prize from the Renaissance Society of America.
ISBN: 9780198777687
Dimensions: 237mm x 164mm x 31mm
Weight: 1g
420 pages