Frazer, Sir James George - The Golden Bough - A Study of Religion and Magic - ( Item 140096 )
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Frazer, Sir James George - The Golden Bough - A Study of Religion and Magic - ( Item 140096 )
Published in London by Folio Society. 2018. First Thus. 2 Fine Hardbacks. No inscriptions or bookplates. Near Fine slipcase. Slight marks to panels of slipcase. James George Frazer's monumental classic, The Golden Bough – a subversive study of religion and folklore that scandalised its first readers – in a lavishly illustrated Folio edition. Over 125 years after it first appeared, The Golden Bough remains a uniquely disturbing masterpiece – a groundbreaking exploration of the twisted roots of magic, ritual and religious belief, and a transformative influence for writers from Eliot to Hemingway, Lovecraft to Freud. Bound in printed and blocked cloth with designs by Romy Blümel. Set in Miller Text. Volume one, 464 pages; volume two, 520 pages. Frontispiece and 72 pages of colour and black & white plates. Blocked slipcase. Gilded tops 10" x 6.75". The life-work of James George Frazer (1854–1941), a pioneering Cambridge University anthropologist, The Golden Bough set out to elucidate a mysterious Roman tradition: that a runaway slave could inherit the priesthood at the shrine of Nemi by chopping a branch from a nearby sacred tree, then murdering the incumbent. To unravel this conundrum, Frazer embarked on a virtual 'voyage of discovery' into a dark world of fertility rites and human sacrifice, sacred kings and dying gods. Pushing the comparative method to its limits, he set myths and rituals from ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome alongside Christian practices, and 19th century observations of tribal beliefs against the residual folk traditions of late-Victorian Britain – with startling results. On the surface, The Golden Bough provides a comforting Darwinian account of humanity's progress from an Age of Magic, through an Age of Religion and on to an Age of Science. But other unnerving conclusions gradually emerge: that the superstitions that Frazer catalogues still bubble dangerously beneath an easily cracked veneer of rationality, and the thought-processes of the reader and primitive man share an unexpected 'essential similarity'. Even more alarming, he presents shocking parallels between tribal rituals, ancient religious ceremonies and key components of Christianity, including its festivals, its sacraments, and even the narrative of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.
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