An interesting but hardly exhaustive study of a fascinating subject. The major flaw here is that the author overlooks (deliberately?) works that do not agree with her theory, namely that the West (particularly England) invented a literary "Wild East" to demonize, "infantilize" or ridicule the perceived alien threat of the Balkans.

One example is when the author discusses the utterly obscure KATTIE OF THE BALKANS by forgotten author F. O. H. Nash while ignoring the still in-print THE LOST PRINCE by well-known author of THE SECRET GARDEN and A LITTLE PRINCESS, Frances Hodgson Burnett. But KATTIE fits the author's theory while THE LOST PRINCE, with it's strong, self-reliant Balkan heroes, does not.

Also, do not expect an indepth examination of films in this genre, as the cover illustration seems to promise. There is only the barest mention of THE PRINCE AND THE SHOWGIRL and the play it was based on, THE SLEEPING PRINCE, and no mention at all of other similarly themed films such as THE SWAN, ROMAN HOLIDAY and THE STUDENT PRINCE.