David Richards examines historical anthropological discourse—specifically writings about and depictions of "savage" peoples by conquering races—as a form of textual practice. Masks of Difference provides detailed readings of individual representations, both artistic and literary, of colonization, including Florida (1564-90) and Scotland (1814), together with extended surveys. What emerges is a composite picture of anthropological representation as a textual genre in its own right, embracing literature, literary theory and colonial/postcolonial studies.