‘Goldsworthy has done enough research to found an academic department… ‘Inventing Ruritania’ is a sober, thoughtful and perceptive examination of an entertainment industry.’
Washington Post ‘Goldsworthy has certainly chosen a glorious topic. … There is a rich literary vein to be mined here, and Goldsworthy has a nice critical eye.’
Tony Judt, The New Republic ‘Goldsworthy seeks to explain the peculiar form of literary and ideological imperialism visited on the Balkans. [She] explores this history of Western perceptions and prejudices by tracing the development of Balkan images in English literature from Byron through the Prisoner of Zenda, Dracula, Olivia Manning’s Balkan Trilogy and beyond. It is thoroughly enjoyable and peppered with hilarious or hair-raising quotations from some of Britain’s most admired authors. … Remarkable.’
Misha Glenny, London Review of Books ‘A wonderful study, which incisively analyses Western stereotypes about the region.’
Carlin Romano, Chronicle of Higher Education ‘Her argument is energetically sustained, meticulous and gripping in its detail.’
Times Literary Supplement ‘A stimulating book. … Goldsworthy’s subject is a fascinating one, and she has done scholars and commentators preoccupied with contemporary events in the region considerable service in identifying and assessing a lost or at least neglected body of literature. … Goldsworthy’s study stands out as a distinctive contribution to a host of urgent cultural and political debates.’
Brian Phillips, Literary Review ‘A beautifully written and heavily researched book … that consistently makes connections between earlier and contemporary constructions of the Balkans. … Correspondences between literature and contemporary politics in Goldsworthy’s book are provocative, suggestive, and sparkling with knowledge of both British and Balkan history and culture, making ‘Inventing Ruritania’ a bold example of an engaged literary criticism.’
Goran V. Stanivukovic, ARIEL: A Review of International English Literature