Forgers and Critics, New Edition: Creativity and Duplicity in Western Scholarship

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The close links between forgery and criticism throughout history In Forgers and Critics, Anthony Grafton provides a wide-ranging exploration of the links between forgery and scholarship. Labeling forgery the "criminal sibling" of criticism, Grafton describes a panorama of remarkable individuals-forgers from classical Greece through the recent pa

Reviews

Grafton makes clear that the master forger must also be . . . a scholar . . . as knowledgeable as those whom he is trying to fool. . . . This elegant monograph ranges from Porphyry through Isaac Casaubon . . . on to Scaliger, Chatterton and others, though its focus remains the transmission of classical texts. Or, rather, pseudo-classical texts.Washington Post
Forgery is the pornography of erudition; andcombining scandal, deception, and betrayal with tales of virtuoso detective workit has long exercised romantic attraction for historians, providing illicit pleasures (when it has not provoked scholarly outrage). To this fascinating and controversial aspect of the history of scholarship Graftons book is a learned, insightful, and most entertaining introduction.Donald R. Kelley, Renaissance Quarterly
A good read. . . . Graftons principal theme is the symbiotic relationship between forgers and critics, and the spur provided by the efforts of each to the development of new skills and techniques by the other. . . . Graftons notes, as always, are superb . . . providing lesser mortals with plenty of new and essential material for study.Julia Haig Gaisser, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

Author Bio

Anthony Grafton is the Henry Putnam University Professor of History at Princeton University. His many books include What was History and Bring Out Your Dead.