Synopses & Reviews
Is there a resemblance between the contemporary anorexic teenager counting every calorie in her single-minded pursuit of thinness, and an ascetic medieval saint examining her every desire? Rudolph M. Bell suggests that the answer is yes.
"Everyone interested in anorexia nervosa . . . should skim this book or study it. It will make you realize how dependent upon culture the definition of disease is. I will never look at an anorexic patient in the same way again."and#8212;Howard Spiro, M.D., Gastroenterology
"[This] book is a first-class social history and is well-documented both in its historical and scientific portions."and#8212;Vern L. Bullough, American Historical Review
"A significant contribution to revisionist history, which re-examines events in light of feminist thought. . . . Bell is particularly skillful in describing behavior within its time and culture, which would be bizarre by today's norms, without reducing it to the pathological."and#8212;Mary Lassance Parthun, Toronto Globe and Mail
"Bell is both enlightened and convincing. His book is impressively researched, easy to read, and utterly fascinating."and#8212;Sheila MacLeod, New Statesman
Synopsis
Preface1. Recognition and Treatment2. I, Catherine3. The Cloister4. Wives and Mothers5. Historical Dimensions: Ascent6. Historical Dimensions: DeclineEpilogueNotesBibliographySources for FiguresIndex
About the Author
Rudolph M. Bell, professor of history at Rutgers University, is the author of a number of books in Italian history, among themand#160;
Fate and Honor, Family and Village: Demographic and Cultural Change in Rural Italy Since 1800,and#160;Holy Anorexia,
How to Do It: Guides to Good Living for Renaissance Italians, and
The Voices of Gemma Galgani: The Life and Afterlife of a Modern Saint (with Cristina Mazzoni)
,and#160;all published by the University of Chicago Press.
Table of Contents
Preface
1. Recognition and Treatment
2. I, Catherine
3. The Cloister
4. Wives and Mothers
5. Historical Dimensions: Ascent
6. Historical Dimensions: Decline
Epilogue
Notes
Bibliography
Sources for Figures
Index