Binding Passions: Tales of Magic, Marriage, and Power at the End of the Renaissance
"This is a colorful book, lively, very teachable. It exposes beliefs and customs that only occasionally surface in the records of high culture, but clearly pullulated."--Journal of Social History"These tales introduce historians to a fascinating cast of characters, and historians of sexuality can find much of interest here."--Journal of the History of Sexuality"Good tales abound in this book...tales of the magical binding of love and lust within and without marriage, often across boundaries of class and status."--Sixteenth Century Journal"Ruggiero has interesting stories to tell. He draws out the implications of the stories without inflicting dreary theory on the reader. And he obviously knows his Venetian sources well."--American Historical Review"This imaginative work on the history of marriage, magic, witchcraft, and sexuality in the Republic of Venice in the late-sixteenth century offers a fascinating glimpse into the world of the 'illicit' through a series of carefully constructed 'dossiers' of the Inquisition. Guido Ruggiero has written an important and provocative book; his approach is novel; and the result is sure to engage a broad range of readers."--John Martin,Trinity University