The Stereotyped Jew

The Jewish Stereotype in English Literature traces the origins and evolution of hateful images of Jews in the works of Shakespeare Dickens and others in English literature as a way of understanding why anti-Semitism exists today. Where did the stereotype of the greedy Jewish moneylender come from? Did William Shakespeare create a Jewish villain because of a hatred for Jewish people? Did he know any Jewish people? What prompted Charles Dickens to rewrite parts of his already-popular novel Oliver Twist in order to remove anti-Semitic references? These and other questions are explored in The Jewish Stereotype in English Literature.