Palerme

1984 · 160478 — Birmingham Alabama: Summa Publications 1984. Octavo pp. 1-6 i-iii iv v vi-vii viii ix x xi xii xiii-xiv 1 2-164 165-168: blank illustrations cloth. First edition. A presentation copy with signed inscription by Litvack on the front free endpaper. "This study deals with over thirty literary treatments of the droit du seigneur in the drama & fiction of France England Germany Italy & America. Before going into a detailed analysis of how different authors in various countries employed this theme an attempt is made to study the origin & etymology of the term & the many slang versions of the droit which appear in different cultures are given. A great controversy flourished regarding the authenticity of the droit & many conflicts accounts of it appear in the writings of historians anthropologists & sociologists. An attempt is made to summarize the conclusions drawn from the leading scholars of this subject and an account is given of how the use of the droit in literature deviates from its historical and sociological interpretations. The droit du seigneur to our knowledge first surfaced as a literary theme in the seventeenth century in a play by Fletcher and Massinger. This play engendered many offspring for subsequent English authors not only use the theme but openly acknowledge their debt to Fletcher and Massinger." - author's preface. A fine copy without dust jacket as issued. #160478 Summa Publications unknown books