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This collection of thirteen specially commissioned essays by international scholars takes a fresh look at the profound impact of the Peninsular War on Romantic British literature and culture. The expertly authored chapters explore the valorization of Spain by nineteenth-century poets such as Lord Byron, William Wordsworth, Robert Southey, S.T. Coleridge, the Shelleys, and Felicia Hemans in contrast to the Enlightenment-era view of Spain as a backwards nation in decline. Topics discussed include the vision of Spain in Gothic fiction, Spanish experiences of exile as exemplified by the conflict between Valentin de Llanos and Joseph Blanco White, and British women writers´ approach to peninsular fiction.
Spain in British Romanticism: 1800-1840 is essential reading for scholars and enthusiasts of Romantic literature and Spanish history.

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1 Introduction: Spain and British Romanticism.- 2 The Matter of Spain in Romantic Britain.- 3 Robert Southey and the Peninsular campaign.- 4 Southey, Spain, and Romantic Apostasy.- 5 Wordsworth´s Spain, 1808-1811.-6 Coleridge and Spanish Literature . - 7 Spain and Byron´s The Age of Bronze. - 8 Spain and Cosmopolitan Liberalism.- 9 The Shelleys and Spain.- 10 Spain in Gothic Fiction.- 11 British Women Writers of Peninsular Fiction.- 12 The Spanish "Revolution" in Print and Image.- 13 Alexander Dallas´s Reimagining Spain.- 14 Valentín de Llanos and Spanish Writing in Exile.

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"Spain in British Romanticism are timely reminders that our current political climate, with nationalism on the rise and the perceived threat of emigrant populations exacerbated by cultural stereotypes, has a history and that the war-torn years of the Romantic period, and Romantic-era writers who grappled with cultural difference, played a significant role in that history." (Orianne Smith, European Romantic Review, Vol. 30 (1), 2019)

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Diego Saglia is Professor of English Literature at the University of Parma, Italy.
Ian Haywood is Professor of English Literature at the University of Roehampton, UK.

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