Foreign Bodies and the Body Politic: Discourses of Social Pathology in Early Modern England (Cambridge Studies in Renaissance Literature and Culture) One can glimpse the origins of not only modern xenophobic attitudes to foreigners as carriers of disease, but also "germ" theory in general.This book examines the overlap between early modern English
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| Title | : | Foreign Bodies and the Body Politic: Discourses of Social Pathology in Early Modern England (Cambridge Studies in Renaissance Literature and Culture) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.65 (959 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0521594057 |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 216 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 1998-05-28 |
| Genre | : |
Editorial :
This book examines the overlap between early modern English attitudes to disease and to society and explores the cultural meaning of the image of the body at the interfaces of medicine, morality and politics in Tudor and early Stuart England. In particular, it demonstrates how the body politic's metaphorical "cankers" and "plagues" were increasingly attributed to allegedly pathological "foreign bodies" such as Jews, Catholics, and witches. One can glimpse the origins of not only modern xenophobic attitudes to foreigners as carriers of disease, but also "germ" theory in general. The pathological and the political thus have a long-standing, problematic, and mostly neglected relationship, the prehistory of which this book seeks to uncover.
A little mystery, a little melodrama, some romance, some supernatural happenings, combine in this novel to create a story that holds the interest from page one to the end.
There are of course some of the Ankh-Morpork "usual suspects" in the cast of characters and there are some subtle hints about the orgins and purposes of many of the new characters but not enough to tip the reader too soon to the eventual reveal.
There is a strong sense that the author truly understands "how things work" and this reviewer would like this book to be required reading for all politicians, most of whom seem to have little knowledge of basic economics.
The story has twists and turns that appear to lead off into dead ends, but each and all ultimately are integral to the eventual success of Moist's scheme (even without his active knowledge or participation) and introduces some new characters, both living and semi-living, that one hopes will appear in later books.
This was a very enjoyable
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