Dorothy Figueira, Professor of Comparative Literature, University of Georgia, USA.

Dorothy Figueira has written a magisterial account of Western encounters with India, and presented not only a fascinating story -- with unforgettable characters, some mythical and semi-historical, like Prester John; some historical eminences like Christopher Columbus, Vasco de Gama and Camoens; others, like Ludovico de Varthema and Pietro della Valle, who deserve to be better known -- but an instructive lesson that Europe did not truly know itself until it encountered the mage and reality of an Indian Other. The book is theoretically informed, and philologically detailed, and one is grateful for a guide who is not only genial, but deeply knowledgeable and well-informed.

• PrefaceIntroduction Chapter 1 Representations of the Indian OtherChapter 2 The Lure of Christian Allies and the Fear of Muslim EnemiesChapter 3 The Quest for Christians and the Rediscovery of Monsters Chapter 4 Vasco da Gama, the Meaning of Discovery, and the Hermeneutics of SuspicionChapter 5 Re-visioning the Christian and the Monster Chapter 6 The Return of the Monster: Camoens and the Epic VentureChapter 7 There is No There Anymore: The Subaltern Speaks to Pietro della ValleConclusionBibliographyIndex

Dorothy Figueira, Professor of Comparative Literature, University of Georgia, USA.

Dorothy Figueira has written a magisterial account of Western encounters with India, and presented not only a fascinating story -- with unforgettable characters, some mythical and semi-historical, like Prester John; some historical eminences like Christopher Columbus, Vasco de Gama and Camoens; others, like Ludovico de Varthema and Pietro della Valle, who deserve to be better known -- but an instructive lesson that Europe did not truly know itself until it encountered the mage and reality of an Indian Other. The book is theoretically informed, and philologically detailed, and one is grateful for a guide who is not only genial, but deeply knowledgeable and well-informed.

• PrefaceIntroduction Chapter 1 Representations of the Indian OtherChapter 2 The Lure of Christian Allies and the Fear of Muslim EnemiesChapter 3 The Quest for Christians and the Rediscovery of Monsters Chapter 4 Vasco da Gama, the Meaning of Discovery, and the Hermeneutics of SuspicionChapter 5 Re-visioning the Christian and the Monster Chapter 6 The Return of the Monster: Camoens and the Epic VentureChapter 7 There is No There Anymore: The Subaltern Speaks to Pietro della ValleConclusionBibliographyIndex

Dorothy Figueira, Professor of Comparative Literature, University of Georgia, USA.

Dorothy Figueira has written a magisterial account of Western encounters with India, and presented not only a fascinating story -- with unforgettable characters, some mythical and semi-historical, like Prester John; some historical eminences like Christopher Columbus, Vasco de Gama and Camoens; others, like Ludovico de Varthema and Pietro della Valle, who deserve to be better known -- but an instructive lesson that Europe did not truly know itself until it encountered the mage and reality of an Indian Other. The book is theoretically informed, and philologically detailed, and one is grateful for a guide who is not only genial, but deeply knowledgeable and well-informed.

• PrefaceIntroduction Chapter 1 Representations of the Indian OtherChapter 2 The Lure of Christian Allies and the Fear of Muslim EnemiesChapter 3 The Quest for Christians and the Rediscovery of Monsters Chapter 4 Vasco da Gama, the Meaning of Discovery, and the Hermeneutics of SuspicionChapter 5 Re-visioning the Christian and the Monster Chapter 6 The Return of the Monster: Camoens and the Epic VentureChapter 7 There is No There Anymore: The Subaltern Speaks to Pietro della ValleConclusionBibliographyIndex