The Fiction of Gothic Egypt and British Imperial Paranoia: The Curse of the Suez Canal

In 1859 Ferdinand De Lesseps began his great endeavor to sunder the isthmus of Suez and connect the Mediterranean with the Red Sea, the Occident with the Orient, simultaneously altering the geography of the earth and irrevocably upsetting the precarious global balance of power. Ten years later the e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:English literature in transition, 1880-1920 1880-1920, 2011-01, Vol.54 (4), p.411-443
Main Author: Bulfin, Ailise
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Canals
Colonialism
Criticism and interpretation
Egyptian literature
English literature
Fiction
Gothic literature
History
International relations-UK
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:In 1859 Ferdinand De Lesseps began his great endeavor to sunder the isthmus of Suez and connect the Mediterranean with the Red Sea, the Occident with the Orient, simultaneously altering the geography of the earth and irrevocably upsetting the precarious global balance of power. Ten years later the eyes of the world were upon Egypt as the Suez Canal was inaugurated amidst extravagant Franco-Egyptian celebrations in which a glittering cast of international dignitaries participated. Despite Britain's initial wariness, the canal quickly became the lifeline of the British Empire, and the Egyptian territory adjacent to Suez became pivotally important in international relations. Bulfin aims to elucidate the reciprocal relationship between problems arising from British colonial policy in Egypt following the opening of the Suez Canal and the development of this paranoid sub-genre of popular fiction.
ISSN:0013-8339
1559-2715