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  • © 2012

Renaissance Impostors and Proofs of Identity

Palgrave Macmillan

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Table of contents (9 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-viii
  2. Introducing an Age of Impostors

    • Miriam Eliav-Feldon
    Pages 1-15
  3. Religious Dissimulation

    • Miriam Eliav-Feldon
    Pages 16-67
  4. False Ambassadors, Fabulous Lands

    • Miriam Eliav-Feldon
    Pages 68-96
  5. Underworlds

    • Miriam Eliav-Feldon
    Pages 97-120
  6. Gypsies, or Such as Do Counterfeit

    • Miriam Eliav-Feldon
    Pages 121-136
  7. The Body as Evidence

    • Miriam Eliav-Feldon
    Pages 137-161
  8. Judging by Appearances

    • Miriam Eliav-Feldon
    Pages 162-193
  9. Paperwork: Identification Documents

    • Miriam Eliav-Feldon
    Pages 194-217
  10. Conclusion: Reserving Judgement

    • Miriam Eliav-Feldon
    Pages 218-221
  11. Back Matter

    Pages 222-291

About this book

Early Modern Europe was teeming with impostors. Identity theft was only one form of misrepresentation: royal pretenders, envoys from imaginary lands, religious dissimulators, cross-dressers, false Gypsies - all these caused deep anxiety, leading authorities to invent increasingly sophisticated means for unmasking deception.

Reviews

"Miriam Eliav-Feldon has produced an invaluable account of the remarkably wide range of modes of imposture that were employed by men and women in early modern Europe. ... Renaissance Impostors is well written, carefully organized, and supremely accessible. ... All those who study early modern European history and culture, from undergraduates to established specialists, will find these pages to be thought provoking, and Eliav-Feldon's book should deservedly find its way onto syllabi in a wide range of fields for years to come." - The Journal of Modern History

Authors and Affiliations

  • Tel Aviv University, Israel

    Miriam Eliav-Feldon

About the author

MIRIAM ELIAV-FELDON is Professor of Modern History at Tel Aviv University, Israel. She is Head of the Morris E. Curiel Institute for European Studies and Editor-in-chief of Zmanim - A Historical Quarterly. She has also authored numerous books, including Realistic Utopias (OUP, 1982) and Le périple de Francesco Pucci (Hachette, 1988).

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 89.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access