Description
Book SynopsisIn 1997, Terryl Givens''s The Viper on the Hearth was praised as a new classic in Mormon studies. In the wake of Mormon-inspired and -created artistic, literary, and political activity - today''s Mormon moment - Givens presents a revised and updated edition of his book to address the continuing presence and reception of the Mormon image in contemporary culture.The Viper on the Hearth by Terryl L. Givens is a remarkably lucid and useful study of the patterns of American prejudices against the Mormon people. It provides also a valuable paradigm for the study of all religious ''heresy''.- Harold BloomA well-researched and insightful book...He illuminates the phenomena of religious heresy and persecution generally. The book is thoroughly documented, and Givens writes with a graceful style. This is an excellent example of both historical and literary scholarship.- American Historical ReviewContains provocative insights into American culture, LDS identity, nineteenth-century literature, rhet
Trade ReviewA wonderfully thought-through look at the interrelationships between fiction, religion, and the culture of humor/hostility.... It represents a significant contribution to our understanding of literary relations. * Larry H. Peer, Brigham Young University *
Table of ContentsIntroduction ; Part I: Mormonism, Politics, and History ; 1. "Out of the Sphere of Religion": The Sacred, the Profane, and the Mormons ; 2. "This Upstart Sect": The Mormon Problem in American History ; 3. "Manners, Habits, Customs, and Even Dialect": Sources of the Mormon Conflict ; 4. "An Age of Humbugs": The Contemporary Scene ; 5. "This Great Modern Abomination": Orthodoxy and Heresy in American Religion ; Part II: Mormonism and Fiction ; 6. "Ground in the Presbyterian Smut Machine": The Popular Press, Fiction, and Moral Crusading ; 7. "The Ain't Whites...They're Mormons": Fictive Responses to the Anxiety of Seduction ; 8. "Murder and Mystery - Mormon Style": The Mormon Image in the Twentieth Century ; Notes ; Index
