9 h 46 minAudiobook4 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when a traveller’s knowledge of distant cultures meets the prejudices he carries with him?
The Jew, The Gypsy and El Islam gathers three studies by Richard Francis Burton, the Victorian explorer, soldier, linguist and consul. His subjects are Jews, Roma and Islam. Across these pages, years of travel and language study meet the strong opinions of a man whose curiosity does not free him from prejudice.
The collection offers a record of how one learned and opinionated Victorian sees these peoples. The Jew backs a charge historians have long rejected. The Gypsy approaches Roma through Romani and kinship. El Islam draws on Burton’s study of Muslim law and practice, alongside his experience of pilgrimage in disguise.
What you’ll discover
- A traveller’s searching eye Follow the interests that draw Burton across questions of religion, culture and language.
- A troubling first study Examine how Burton’s account of Jews repeats prejudice and supports a rejected accusation.
- Language and kinship Explore Burton’s fascination with Roma through his attention to Romani and kinship.
- Islam through close study Encounter his writing on Muslim law and practice, informed by language study and travel.
- A Victorian viewpoint Read critically as learning and prejudice sit side by side in Burton’s work.
Who will love it
For readers who love Victorian travel writing, studies of how Europeans pictured the East and minorities, and explorations of Burton’s life, travels and ideas.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A traveller's papers become a book
- The Jew rests on a rejected charge
- The Gypsy joins language and kinship
- El Islam draws on years among Muslims
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Le Juif, le Tsigane et l’islam
by Sir Richard Francis Burton · 1898
Burton’s papers reveal how a Victorian traveller sees Jews, Gypsies and Islam through learning and prejudice.
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From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A traveller's papers become a book
Burton lived most of his adult life far from home. He served in India, crossed into Arabia disguised as a Muslim pilgrim, and later held consular posts, including one in Damascus. He learned many languages and wrote a great deal about the people he met.
When he died in 1890, he left unfinished manuscripts and notes. His wife Isabel guarded his legacy, and the editor William Henry Wilkins later shaped some of this material into the volume we have. The title joins three subjects that Burton had studied at close range.
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What is The Jew, The Gypsy and El Islam about?
It is a collection of three studies by Richard Burton, on Jews, on Gypsies and on Islam. They draw on his travels and consular work in the Middle East and were published after his death in 1898.
Who edited The Jew, The Gypsy and El Islam?
William Henry Wilkins edited the book from papers Burton left. Burton died in 1890, so he never saw it in print. It appeared in 1898 as a gathering of separate pieces.
Is The Jew, The Gypsy and El Islam antisemitic?
The first section supports the Damascus ritual murder accusation of 1840, a libel that historians reject. It reflects Victorian prejudice and should be read critically, as a historical document and not as reliable information.
The author
Richard Francis Burton
1821–1890 · British explorer and travel writer
Sir Richard Francis Burton was a British explorer, army officer, writer and translator. He was born in Torquay, England, in 1821. He served in India and later lived in Trieste as British consul. He published Vikram and the Vampire in 1870 and The Book of the Sword in 1884. He died in Trieste in 1890.
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