Dr Sarah Tiffin (Author): Raffles and the Course of Empire: Decoding Ruin Imagery in The History of Java
When Raffles wrote his landmark publication The History of Java in 1817, ruin sentiment was a fashionable if rather wistful turn of mind that had a considerable influence on British art and literature. The ruin was a popular motif in picturesque imagery, serving as the stimulus for melancholic musings that ranged from deeply felt personal…