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Eothen

By Alexander Kinglake; Introduction by Alison Dingle
Given the twenty-first century association between the Holy Land and the Bible, we may assume that such a relationship just exists, and that the land is like the Book and contains a timeless quality. Eothen requires us to question this supposition. Alexander Kinglake describes a Palestine which is largely a wilderness on the verge of being defined by the political and religious forces of the west. He offers us a glimpse into the past of a society as it begins to engage with the West.
Publisher: Gorgias Press LLC
Availability: In stock
SKU (ISBN): 978-1-60724-664-0
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Publication Status: In Print
Publication Date: Oct 27,2009
Interior Color: Black
Trim Size: 6 x 9
Page Count: 262
Languages: English
ISBN: 978-1-60724-664-0
$148.00
Your price: $88.80
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What can we learn about the Middle East from a travel narrative published in the 1840s? Given the twenty-first century association between the Holy Land and the Bible, we may assume that such a relationship just exists, and that the land is like the Book and contains a timeless quality. But a text such as Eothen requires us to question this supposition. Alexander Kinglake describes a Palestine which is largely a wilderness and a place on the verge of social change; a part of the Ottoman Empire, but a country under the occupation of the Egyptian forces of Mohamed Ali. Not only is it a place of “splendour and havoc”, inspiring a Romantic sense of adventure, it is also a part of the Eastern question, attracting the attention of Britain and France, and within the orbit of the European political arena. It is a wilderness on the verge of being defined by the political and religious forces of the west.

By giving us a picture of Palestine, as these social forces gained momentum, Kinglake allows us to glimpse into the past to a society and place as it engaged with Europe, and with westerners. His haughty persona, may prove a distraction, but it simultaneously indicates one strand of western-eastern relations, and also allows us to recognise the narrative strategies which, when filtered through close reading, open out onto a clear direct and articulate portrayal of early nineteenth century Levantine life.

What can we learn about the Middle East from a travel narrative published in the 1840s? Given the twenty-first century association between the Holy Land and the Bible, we may assume that such a relationship just exists, and that the land is like the Book and contains a timeless quality. But a text such as Eothen requires us to question this supposition. Alexander Kinglake describes a Palestine which is largely a wilderness and a place on the verge of social change; a part of the Ottoman Empire, but a country under the occupation of the Egyptian forces of Mohamed Ali. Not only is it a place of “splendour and havoc”, inspiring a Romantic sense of adventure, it is also a part of the Eastern question, attracting the attention of Britain and France, and within the orbit of the European political arena. It is a wilderness on the verge of being defined by the political and religious forces of the west.

By giving us a picture of Palestine, as these social forces gained momentum, Kinglake allows us to glimpse into the past to a society and place as it engaged with Europe, and with westerners. His haughty persona, may prove a distraction, but it simultaneously indicates one strand of western-eastern relations, and also allows us to recognise the narrative strategies which, when filtered through close reading, open out onto a clear direct and articulate portrayal of early nineteenth century Levantine life.

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Contributor

AlexanderKinglake

AlisonDingle

  • Table of Contents (page 5)
  • Series Foreword (page 7)
  • Introduction to the reprint (page 23)
  • CONTENTS (page 27)
  • PREFACE ADDRESSED BY THE AUTHOR TO ONE OF HIS FRIENDS (page 29)
  • EOTHEN: CHAPTER I: Over the Border (page 35)
  • CHAPTER II: Journey from Belgrade to Constantinople (page 45)
  • CHAPTER III: Constantinople (page 57)
  • CHAPTER IV: The Troad (page 65)
  • CHAPTER V: Infidel Smyrna (page 71)
  • CHAPTER VI: Greek Mariners (page 81)
  • CHAPTER VII: Cyprus (page 89)
  • CHAPTER VIII: Lady Hester Stanhope (page 96)
  • CHAPTER IX: The Sanetuary (page 118)
  • CHAPTER X: The Monks of the Holy Land (page 121)
  • CHAPTER XI: From Nazareth to Tiberias (page 127)
  • CHAPTER XII: My first Bivouac (page 131)
  • CHAPTER XIII: The Dead Sea (page 138)
  • CHAPTER XIV: The Black Tents (page 144)
  • CHAPTER XV: (page 147)
  • CHAPTER XVI: Terra Santa (page 152)
  • CHAPTER XVII: The Desert (page 167)
  • CHAPTER XVIII: Cairo and the Plagne (page 188)
  • CHAPTER XIX: The Pyramids (page 210)
  • CHAPTER XX: The Sphynx (page 213)
  • CHAPTER XXI: Cairo to Suez (page 215)
  • CHAPTER XXII: Suez (page 222)
  • CHAPTER XXIII: Suez to Gaza (page 227)
  • CHAPTER XXIV: Gaza to Nablous (page 233)
  • CHAPTER XXV: Mariam (page 237)
  • CHAPTER XXVI: The Prophet Damoor (page 245)
  • CHAPTER XXVII: Damascus (page 249)
  • CHAPTER XXVIII: Pass of the Lebanon (page 256)
  • CHAPTER XXIX: Surprise of Satalieh (page 260)
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