Review by Choice Review
Franklin (English, Swansea Univ., Wales) revisits a subject he has written on frequently, the polymath linguist William Jones. Curiously, in this book he offers no raison d'etre for his latest contribution: it is neither a biography nor a critical analysis in any conventional sense. The implicit premise appears to be a rehabilitation of Jones's status against such detractors as Edward Said, who would see him as a practitioner of the power of knowledge complicit in the imperial subjugation of British India. Franklin sees Jones as a scholar and colonial administrator deeply sympathetic to Indian culture, which he sought to sustain rather than exploit. In Franklin's portrait, Jones emerges as presciently modern figure who honored multicultural difference and promoted a syncretic vision of global humanism. His reconfiguration of Jones within this prism is attractive and persuasive. However, the book suffers, at times, from a gossipy familiarity that surrenders critical distance from its subject; furthermore, the lack of a clearly articulated thematic agenda heading the book in places results in an unsure narrative grasp that meanders with unfortunate, irritating imprecision. Summing Up: Recommended. With reservations. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. A. W. Lee Arkansas Tech University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
