The Viper on the Hearth: Mormons, Myths, and the Construction of Heresy

by Terryl L. Givens

Overview

In 1997, Terryl Givens's The Viper on the Hearth was praised as a new classic in Mormon studies. In the wake of Mormon-inspired and -created artistic, literary, and political activity--today's "Mormon moment"--Givens presents a revised and updated edition of his book to address the continuing presence and reception of the Mormon image in contemporary culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199985135
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	12/31/2012
Series:	Religion in America
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Terryl L. Givens is Professor of Literature and Religion and James A. Bostwick Chair of English, University of Richmond. His books on Mormonism and American religious culture include By the Hand of Mormon, People of Paradox and (with Matthew Grow) Parley P. Pratt: The Apostle Paul of Mormonism.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Part I: Mormonism, Politics, and History
1. "Out of the Sphere of Religion": The Sacred, the Profane, and the Mormons
2. "This Upstart Sect": The Mormon Problem in American History
3. "Manners, Habits, Customs, and Even Dialect": Sources of the Mormon Conflict
4. "An Age of Humbugs": The Contemporary Scene
5. "This Great Modern Abomination": Orthodoxy and Heresy in American Religion

Part II: Mormonism and Fiction
6. "Ground in the Presbyterian Smut Machine": The Popular Press, Fiction, and Moral Crusading
7. "The Ain't Whites...They're Mormons": Fictive Responses to the Anxiety of Seduction
8. "Murder and Mystery — Mormon Style": The Mormon Image in the Twentieth Century

Notes
Index

Editorial Reviews

"One of the Five Best Books about Mormonism."—Wall Street Journal

From the Publisher