Fragile Minds and Vulnerable Souls: The Matter of Obscenity in Nineteenth-Century Germany

Sarah L. Leonard

Published by University of Pennsylvania Press 2015

Fragile Minds and Vulnerable Souls

The Matter of Obscenity in Nineteenth-Century Germany

Sarah L. Leonard

In the series Material Texts

https://doi.org/10.9783/9780812291780

Overview
Contents

About this book

Fragile Minds and Vulnerable Souls investigates the creation of "obscene writings and images" —from popular medical works to stereoscope cards—and the process through which these texts were deemed dangerous to the intellectual and emotional lives of vulnerable consumers in nineteenth-century Germany.

Author / Editor information

Sarah L. Leonard is Associate Professor of History at Simmons College.

Reviews

"Sarah Leonard's approach to the topic of obscenity in the German states is fresh, innovative, and sophisticated. It offers an entirely new reading of the history, arguing for a paradigmatic shift in the early to mid-nineteenth century. Her synthesis of the cultural, intellectual, social, and political histories of censorship and obscenity law is unusual, cutting-edge, and impressive."—Ann Goldberg, University of California, Riverside

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Introduction: The Cultivation of Inner Life and the Dangers of Reading Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Chapter 1. Inventing Fragile Readers The Origins of Secular Obscenity Law, 1788–1830 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	14
Chapter 2. Dubious Sources, Dangerous Spaces, Porous Geographies Understanding the Bookseller’s Crime, 1811–1840 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	56
Chapter 3. Defending Forbidden Texts The Strategies of Editors, Publishers, and Authors Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	94
Chapter 4. Liberalism and the Codification of Obscenity Laws in the 1830s and 1840s Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	127
Chapter 5. Redefining Obscenity in an Era of “Progress,” 1848–1880 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	162
Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	206
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	213
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	237
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	253
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	257

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
Audience: College/higher education;
Pages
- Main content: 272
Illustrations
- Other: 8 illus.
Keywords: Literature; Cultural Studies

eBook

Published: December 5, 2014
ISBN: 9780812291780