Impostures in Early Modern England: Representations and Perceptions of Fraudulent Identities
Impostures in Early Modern England: Representations and Perceptions of Fraudulent Identities
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Abstract
Impostors and impostures featured prominently in the political, social and religious life of early modern England. Who was likely to be perceived as impostor, and why? This book offers a full-scale analysis of this multifaceted phenomenon. Using approaches drawn from historical anthropology and micro-history, it investigates changes and continuities within the impostor phenomenon from 1500 to the late eighteenth century, exploring the variety of representations and perceptions of impostors, and their deeper meanings within the specific contexts of social, political, religious, institutional and cultural change. The book examines a wide range of sources, from judicial archives and other official records to chronicles, newspapers, ballads, pamphlets and autobiographical writings. Given that identity is never fixed, but involves a performative dimension, changing over time and space, it looks at the specific factors which constitute identity in a particular context, and asks why certain characteristics of an allegedly false identity were regarded as fake.
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Front Matter
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Introduction
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Part I Identifying impostures in early modern England
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1
Counterfeit beggars, bogus cunning folk and bigamists
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2
Tricksters and officialdom – bogus officials and forgers
- 3 Quacks – all notorious medical impostors?
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4
Prophets and visionaries, possessed and exorcists – all religious impostors?
- 5 ‘The unfortunate whose kingdom is not of this world’1 – political impostures
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6
Ethnic impostors
- 7 Gentleman impostors
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1
Counterfeit beggars, bogus cunning folk and bigamists
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Part II Imposture and autobiography
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End Matter
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