In Fear and Temptation, Terry Goldie reveals the striking similarity of images of native peoples in the white literature of Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Goldie shows this by examining more than 350 texts, from the narratives of early explorers to the fiction, poetry, and drama of later periods.

Focusing on the words and experiences of the poor themselves, this book rewrites our understanding of English social policy for the period from the 1750s to 1830s.