Constructing Charisma: Celebrity, Fame, and Power in Nineteenth-Century Europe

Published by Berghahn Books 2010

Constructing Charisma

Celebrity, Fame, and Power in Nineteenth-Century Europe

Edited by: Edward Berenson and Eva Giloi

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781845459772

Overview
Contents

About this book

Railroads, telegraphs, lithographs, photographs, and mass periodicals—the major technological advances of the 19th century seemed to diminish the space separating people from one another, creating new and apparently closer, albeit highly mediated, social relationships. Nowhere was this phenomenon more evident than in the relationship between celebrity and fan, leader and follower, the famous and the unknown. By mid-century, heroes and celebrities constituted a new and powerful social force, as innovations in print and visual media made it possible for ordinary people to identify with the famous; to feel they knew the hero, leader, or "star"; to imagine that public figures belonged to their private lives. This volume examines the origins and nature of modern mass media and the culture of celebrity and fame they helped to create. Crossing disciplines and national boundaries, the book focuses on arts celebrities (Sarah Bernhardt, Byron and Liszt); charismatic political figures (Napoleon and Wilhelm II); famous explorers (Stanley and Brazza); and celebrated fictional characters (Cyrano de Bergerac).

Author / Editor information

Edward Berenson is Professor of History and French Studies and Director of the Institute of French Studies at New York University. His numerous publications include The Trial of Madame Caillaux (University of California Press 1992), Heroes of Empire: Five Charismatic Men and Europe's Quest for Africa, (University of California Press 2010) and The Statue of Liberty: A Transatlantic Story (Yale University Press 2012).

Eva Giloi is Associate Professor in the History Department at Rutgers University, Newark. She is the author of Monarchy, Myth, and Material Culture in Germany 1750-1950 (Cambridge University Press 2011).

Edward Berenson is Professor of History and French Studies and Director of the Institute of French Studies at New York University. His numerous publications include The Trial of Madame Caillaux (University of California Press 1992), Heroes of Empire: Five Charismatic Men and Europe's Quest for Africa, (University of California Press 2010) and The Statue of Liberty: A Transatlantic Story (Yale University Press 2012).

Reviews

“It is one of the key achievements of Edward Berenson and Eva Giloi’s lively volume to remind us that many of the mechanisms, phenomena and discussions readily associated with the present day date back to the 1800s –an age Leo Braudy calls ‘the first century of mass culture.’ The concept of ‘charisma’ –invariably presented with all the Weberian trimmings –is used here as an analytical leitmotif to provide the different contributions with an additional degree of coherence. What is more, the volume’s eponymous claim about the constructability of charisma is picked up very ingeniously in Braudy’s concluding observations, which deliver a thought-provoking punch line.” · European History Quarterly

“…a lively collection, with invaluable insights for scholars working on celebrity and celebrity culture.” · French Studies

“The conclusion by Braudy (himself a figure of some celebrity in the field of celebrity culture) does terrific work in reminding us of just how rich this collection is as a whole…By reminding us of the diverse intellectual achievements of our historical predecessors in dealing with fame and celebrity when it actually was new and unknowable, this collection is highly recommended.” · European Journal of Cultural Studies

“In revising and broadening Weber’s original definition of charisma, for example by considering its gendered construction, the editors and authors bring together a range of innovative interdisciplinary perspectives drawn from history, literary studies, art history, and musicology…These perspectives provide a valuable template for the study of individuals ‘known for their well-knownness,’ in Daniel J. Boorstin’s catchphrase, across cultures and historical eras into the present day, from Sarah Bernhardt to Lady Gaga.” · H-France Net

“…the collection offers a refreshing addition to celebrity studies scholarship for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is its European frame of reference. By focusing on Britain, France, and Germany, the book throws into relief the field’s overemphasis on the United States as the archetype of celebrity culture….[Its] greatest strength is the careful attention paid to the culture of the image and to visual performance throughout.” · Critical Quarterly

“This is a persuasive and timely collection. Celebrity and charisma are very much on the current research agenda. This volume deals with these issues in a serious, insightful manner, making an original contribution to what is now a rising field of study.” · Philip Nord, Princeton University

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	v
List of Illustrations Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Introduction Edward Berenson and Eva Giloi Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Part I: Constructing Charisma
1. Charisma and the Making of Imperial Heroes in Britain and France, 1880–1914 Edward Berenson Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	21
2. “So Writes the Hand that Swings the Sword” Autograph Hunting and Royal Charisma in the German Empire, 1861–1888 Eva Giloi Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	41
3. The Workings of Royal Celebrity Wilhelm II as Media Emperor Martin Kohlrausch Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	52
Part II: Celebrity as Performance
4. From the Top Liszt’s Aristocratic Airs Dana Gooley Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	69
5. Celebrity Gifting Mallarmé and the Poetics of Fame Emily Apter Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	86
6. Rethinking Female Celebrity The Eccentric Star of Nineteenth-Century France Mary Louise Roberts Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	103
Part III: The Politics of Fame
7. Byron, Death, and the Afterlife Stephen Minta Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	119
8. The Historical Actor Peter Fritzsche Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	134
9. Celebrity, Patriotism, and Sarah Bernhardt Kenneth E. Silver Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	145
10 Heroes, Celebrity, and the Theater in Fin-de-Siècle France Cyrano de Bergerac Venita Datta Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	155
Conclusion: Secular Anointings Fame, Celebrity, and Charisma in the First Century of Mass Culture Leo Braudy Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	165
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	183
Notes on Contributors Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	215
Selected Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	217
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	225

Language: English
Publisher: Berghahn Books
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 244
Keywords: History (General); History: 18th/19th Century

eBook

Published: July 1, 2010
ISBN: 9781845459772