Enemy Reviewed

In past centuries British attitudes toward German culture oscillated between hostility and indifference. For a brief period of 20 years between the two World Wars, this pattern changed dramatically, with a flood of German books in translation threatening to engulf the British book market and triggering violently emotional reactions in the literary pages of the popular press. Reviewers of these books are shown here to have harbored a deep amibivalence toward an alien German culture. The reviews of these years reveal a dialectical tug of war between the established Hun stereotype of Germany and a dual complex and contradicting image of the redeeming barbarian promising rebirth.

In past centuries British attitudes toward German culture oscillated between hostility and indifference. For a brief period of 20 years between the two World Wars, this pattern changed dramatically, with a flood of German books in translation threatening to engulf the British book market and triggering violently emotional reactions in the literary pages of the popular press. Reviewers of these books are shown here to have harbored a deep amibivalence toward an alien German culture. The reviews of these years reveal a dialectical tug of war between the established Hun stereotype of Germany and a dual complex and contradicting image of the redeeming barbarian promising rebirth.

Booknews

Examines the flood of German literature, mostly novels, that poured into Britain between the world wars, and the ambivalent reaction of reviewers in popular journals and newspapers. Describes the highly homogenous and privileged reviewers, the economic pressures on both publishers and reviewers to write favorable reviews, and the changing political and social context in Britain. Does not consider the relationship between German literature and conditions in Germany. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

ARIELA HALKIN was born in Israel and educated in a British boarding school. She received her B.A. degree in English and French literature at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She received her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Western European History from Tel Aviv University.