Books of Secrets
About the Book
Ranging from alchemy to necromancy, "books of secrets" offered medieval readers an affordable and accessible collection of knowledge about the natural world. Allison Kavey's study traces the cultural relevance of these books and also charts their influence on the people who read them. Citing the importance of printers in choosing the books' contents, she points out how these books legitimized manipulating nature, thereby expanding cultural categories, such as masculinity, femininity, gentleman, lady, and midwife, to include the willful command of the natural world.About the Author
Allison Kavey is an assistant professor of history at the City University of New York's John Jay College of Criminal Justice.Reviews
Kavey's book is an excellent entrée into this class of writings and provides many insights into how they were constructed."--Renaissance Quarterly"An important and long-awaited contribution to the history of science. . . . [Books of Secrets] will undoubtedly enrich and expand prevailing assumptions about the intersection of scientific knowledge and print culture in sixteenth-century England."--ISIS
Blurbs
“An impressive achievement. Books of Secrets brings together realms too often left disparate in contemporary scholarship: gender studies, history of science, and book history. It is fascinating how Kavey deftly traces fungible notions of agency across various materials and explanations, and this refusal to settle for easy answers is one of the book’s many virtues. The answers it gives are all the more profound, and persuasive, for the effort.”--Michael Schoenfeldt, author of Bodies and Selves in Early Modern England
"In exploring connections between books of secrets and other early modern publications such as recipe collections, popular dramas, and horse-care manuals, Kavey shows how these materials represent the emerging concept that the natural world can be successfully manipulated by technology, even as used by ordinary people. This stimulating read makes a significant contribution to several fields: the history of science, the history of the book, women's studies, and print culture in early modern England."--Clare Carroll, Director of Renaissance Studies, CUNY Graduate Center
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