1st Edition
Monstrosity, Bodies, and Knowledge in Early Modern England Curiosity to See and Behold
By Whitney Dirks
Copyright 2024
290 Pages
by
Routledge
290 Pages
by
Routledge
290 Pages
by
Routledge
Also available as eBook on:
In 1680, the poor cottager Mary Herring gave birth to conjoined twins. At two weeks of age, they were kidnapped to be shown for money, and their deaths shortly thereafter gave rise to a four-year legal battle over ownership and income. The Herring twins’ microhistory weaves throughout this book, as the chapter structure alternates between the family’s ordeal and the broader cultural context of how... Read more
Acknowledgments, Dedication, Conventions and Abbreviations, Preface: A Note about Form, Étude 1: An Anomalous Birth, Chapter 1: Introduction: Monstrosity, Disability, and Knowledge, Étude 2: A Newsworthy Event, Chapter 2: Monstrous Print, Étude 3: A Popular Attraction, Chapter 3: Monstrous Shows, Étude 4: The Expert Visitor, Chapter 4: The Royal Society, Étude 5: A Decorative Commodity, Chapter 5: Visual Culture, Étude 6: The Lawsuit, Chapter 6: Conclusion: Autonomy, Agency, and Unfree Labour, Bibliographical Abbreviations, Primary Sources: Archival, Primary Sources: Printed, Visual, Material, Modern Editions, Secondary Sources.
Biography
Whitney Dirks received her PhD in History at The Ohio State University in 2013. Her research on bodies and unusual anatomies in early modern England is grounded in social history and interacts with a number of interdisciplinary fields: Disability, Fat, Sexuality, and Monster Studies. She is particularly driven by microhistorical approaches and the allure of diving deeply into her source material – conducting close readings of medical treatises, legal cases, and popular print – while exploring connections to broader social concerns, such as Othering and constructions of normalcy.
