Making sense of the Bear: representations of Russia and the Soviet Union in British travel writing, from the Great Game to the post-imperial millennium

MAKING SENSE OF THE BEAR considers the evolution of British representations in travel writing of Russia and its empires. It develops the historiography of this subject by extending analysis to twentieth century sources, and by examining the applicability of significant academic theories and concepts: Orientalism; anti-conquest; and the distinctiveness or otherwise of women’s travel writing. The principal period under analysis runs from 1816 to 1991, with an overview from 1553 and an afterword examining post-Soviet Union era developments.