'Images of Switzerland: Challenges from the Margins', appearing at a time when Swiss identity is under severe pressure, deals with perceptions of Switzerland held by a variety of minority groups. A historical review of attitudes to Jews prior to World War Two precedes chronologically essays on recent perceptions of marginalisation in literature written by women, manifestations of the 'Fremdarbeiter' in German-Swiss literature, the outsider in the work of Lukas Hartmann and socially disadvantaged figures in recent Italian-Swiss writing.