{"product_id":"desperate-magic-9780801451461","title":"Desperate Magic","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eKivelson places Russian witchcraft trials of the seventeenth century in the legal, social, and religious context of early modern Russia—and in comparison with witch hunts of Western Europe and elsewhere.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eDesperate Magic \u003c\/i\u003eis a triumphant crowning of years of careful work and wide-ranging inquiry. It is a milestone in the study of witchcraft in the European eastand it will certainly give those who work on the \"centers\" much to ponder.\"—David Frick\u003c\/p\u003e * Slavic Review *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eDesperate Magic\u003c\/i\u003e is a good value, reasonably priced considering the fact that it has color plates. It has a good bibliography and index and would be an excellent choice for a graduate seminar on the cross-cultural analysis of witchcraft and witch-hunting.\u003c\/p\u003e -- William E. Burns * Sixteenth Century Journal *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eEarly modern Russia shared with its European neighbors an intense fear of witches. Yet the characteristics of witches and witchcraft in Russia sharply diverged from those most frequently identified in the West...In articles over the past twenty years Valerie Kivelson has developed new approaches to this topic. In this long-awaited monograph, Kivelson goes further, enunciating an original and compelling thesis about the occurrence of witchcraft in early modern Russia.\u003c\/p\u003e -- Eve Levin * Nova Religio *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eFull of material that illuminates fascinating corners and major issues in late-Muscovite Russiathe author's latest book is the definitive source for information on witchcraft and witch trials in the seventeenth century.... Kivelson makes the reader think more about how hierarchy and protection worked in Muscovy and when and how they failed to keep social order.\u003c\/p\u003e -- Robert W. Thurston * The Historian *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn her new monograph, Valerie Kivelson fulfils the promise of her earlierarticles on Russian witchcraft by producing an impressive study of the subject.Kivelson's work is grounded in the analysis of two hundred and thirty trialsinvolving about five hundred people—the most exhaustive list of seventeenth-centurycases yet compiled. Though the examination of the cases themselveswould be a considerable contribution to the field, the book also serves as aninsightful investigation into the nature of Russia’s social fabric in one of its most pivotal centuries.... [\u003ci\u003eDesperate Magic\u003c\/i\u003e] is exhaustive in its breadth, informative in its erudition,and inspiring in its ability to raise new questions about Russian history.Both scholars of witchcraft and of early modern Russia have much tolearn from her work.\u003c\/p\u003e -- Matthew Romaniello * English Historical Review *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eValerie Kivelson has provided the goods splendidly here, filling out another corner of our picture of Europe's witch hunts with a fine study which is the more important for the manner in which so many of its features run counter to the continental norm.\u003c\/p\u003e -- Ronald Hutton * Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eKivelson has produced a thorough study of witchcraft trials in 17th-century Russia that draws on over 200 court cases and a wealth of scholarship unavailable in English. She employs the concept of 'moral economy' to emphasize the function of witchcraft in early modern Russia's social hierarchy with accusations erupting at points of tension and trials serving to police and preserve a rigid sense of order that proceeded from God to czar to subjects. The author examines prescriptive religious and political documents, trial procedure and the use of torture, and various gender and class dynamics at play in the extant records. Kivelson carefully considers the broader literature on early modern witch-hunts, demonstrating that the Russian cases defy patterns observed in western Europe. She highlights contrasts between Latin and Orthodox intellectual frameworks, finding Russians far less interested than their western counterparts in sorting out theological inconsistencies. Broadly suggestive regarding the relationships among religion, law, political culture, and social relations, the book will be valuable for a variety of specialists. Summing Up: Recommended.\u003c\/p\u003e * Choice *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eAcknowledgments\u003cbr\u003e List of Abbreviations\u003cbr\u003e Note on Names and Transliteration\u003cbr\u003e Maps\u003cbr\u003e Introduction: The Moral Economy of Desperation in Seventeenth-Century Russia\u003cbr\u003e 1. Witchcraft Historiography: Russia's Divergence\u003cbr\u003e 2. \"Report on This Matter to Us in Moscow, Fully and in Truth\": Documentation and Procedure\u003cbr\u003e 3. Muscovite Prosaic Magic and the Devil’s Pale Shadow\u003cbr\u003e 4. Love, Sex, and Hierarchy: The Role of Gender in Witchcraft Accusations\u003cbr\u003e 5. Undivided Spheres: Gender and Idioms of Magic\u003cbr\u003e 6. \"To Treat Me Kindly\": Negotiating Excess in Muscovite Hierarchical Relations\u003cbr\u003e 7. Trials, Justice, and the Logic of Torture\u003cbr\u003e 8. Witchcraft, Heresy, Treason, Rebellion: Defining Muscovy’s Most Heinous Crimes\u003cbr\u003e The Aftermath: Peter the Great and the Age of Enlightenment\u003cbr\u003e Appendix A. List of Witchcraft Trials\u003cbr\u003e Appendix B. List of Laws and Decrees against Witchcraft and Magic\u003cbr\u003e Notes\u003cbr\u003e Bibliography\u003cbr\u003e Index\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cornell University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49405138108759,"sku":"9780801451461","price":97.2,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780801451461.jpg?v=1730488843","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/desperate-magic-9780801451461","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}