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"Learning from Lying narrates a new literary history as seen through the lens of mystification. Beginning with an examination of mystification's elaboration during the century of Enlightenment, the book accounts for mystification's distinctiveness relative to other deceptive forms, particularly forgery, and provides a timely intervention in current debates about the study of fakes. Readings of works by Denis Diderot, Prosper Merimee, and Wolfgang Hildesheimer follow out the cosmopolitan roots of the genre in the Republic of Letters and show how it theorizes literature through practical experiment. For when textual imitation is revealed, it unveils the necessary collusion between reader and writer that allows literature to exist as such."--BOOK JACKET.
Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize | Finalist for the 2022 Edgar Award Winner of the 2021 Quinn Award An innovative biography of Edgar Allan Poe—highlighting his fascination and feuds with science. Decade after decade, Edgar Allan Poe remains one of the most popular American writers. He is beloved around the world for his pioneering detective fiction, tales of horror, and haunting, atmospheric verse. But what if there was another side to the man who wrote “The Raven” and “The Fall of the House of Usher”? In The Reason for the Darkness of the Night, John Tresch offers a bold new biography of a writer whose short, tortured life continues to fascinate. Shining a spotlight o...
This multicultural and interdisciplinary reference brings a fresh social and cultural perspective to the global history of food, foodstuffs, and cultural exchange from the age of discovery to contemporary times. Comprehensive in scope, this two-volume encyclopedia covers agriculture and industry, food preparation and regional cuisines, science and technology, nutrition and health, and trade and commerce, as well as key contemporary issues such as famine relief, farm subsidies, food safety, and the organic movement. Articles also include specific foodstuffs such as chocolate, potatoes, and tomatoes; topics such as Mediterranean diet and the Spice Route; and pivotal figures such as Marco Polo, Columbus, and Catherine de' Medici. Special features include: dozens of recipes representing different historic periods and cuisines of the world; listing of herbal foods and uses; and a chronology of key events/people in food history.