Alien Albion : literature and immigration in early modern England / Scott Oldenburg.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Alien Albion challenges assumptions about the origins of English national identity and the importance of religious, class, and local identities in the early modern era.

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CHOICE Review

In Alien Albion, Oldenburg (Tulane Univ.) makes a strong case for early-modern England as being a more diverse and accepting place for foreigners than is usually allowed. Through discussions of literary works by authors such as Deloney, Dekker, and Shakespeare, and building on the works of critics such as Andrew Pettegree, Oldenburg argues that despite periods of xenophobic activity the England of the 16th and 17th centuries was in fact found to be a refuge by foreign peoples. In historicized readings of literary works, the author shows that there was often a concerted effort to protect communities of foreign religious believers who agreed with the ruling religious view or foreign craftsmen who participated in particular trades and guilds. Providing contextualization for the literature of the time, Oldenburg's well-researched book helps to undermine the concept of a xenophobic English nation and literature in the early modern period. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above. --Jesse David Sharpe, University of Houston