The Orientalism debate, inspired by the work of Edward Said, has been a major source of cross-disciplinary controversy. This work offers a re-evaluation of this vast literature of Orientalism by a historian of imperalism, giving it a historical perspective. The discussion tests the notion that the Western arts received genuine inspiration from the East by examining the visual arts, architecture, design, music and theatre. The book argues that Western approaches to the Orient have been much more ambiguous and genuinely interactive than Said allowed.