The Greek Fire

Maureen Connors Santelli is a Professor of History at Northern Virginia Community College.

Introduction: The Spark of the Greek Fire 1. Americans, Greeks, and Ottomans Before 1821 2. European Philhellenism Crosses the Atlantic 3. Philhellenism Joins with American Benevolence 4. Philhellenes Clash with American Commerce 5. Abolitionism, Reform, and Philhellenic Rhetoric Conclusion: The Legacy of American Philhellenism

Highly recommended. (Choice) It is a testament to the range of The Greek Fire that Santelli extends her analysis beyond the transnational story of the reception of the Greek rebellion in America to consider the trans-imperial and geopolitical dimensions of this episode. Santelli, in particular, should be applauded for linking the reception of the Greek revolution in the United States to its quest for commercial expansion in the Near East. (Journal of the Early Republic) Santelli illuminates American romantic kinship with the Greeks, given Hellenic themes in American education, architecture, and literature, and news of the British poet Lord Byron's martyrdom in the Greek cause; it mattered that he died in Missolonghi, not Paris or Warsaw. (The Journal of American History) One of the many merits of this book is that it places the movement of Philhellenism within its historical coordinates while adding the perspective of time. In particular, it examines Philhellenism's legacy during the nineteenth century as it pertains, in the American context, to calls for emancipation and arguments for Americans' moral responsibility to extend their own freedoms to faraway strangers in foreign lands. (Journal of Modern Greek Studies) The focus on American society necessitated reliance primarily on published sources such as newspapers, books, and pamphlets, within which Santelli has found an impressive archive of discussion of Greece. It is to be hoped that her work will prompt further research on American interaction with Greece. (H-Net (H-Nationalism))