Learning From Lying: Paradoxes Of The Literary Mystification

by Julia Abramson

Writers who mystify operate through their lies point toward truth, and their obfuscations reveal trickery. This conundrum is the foundation for Learning from Lying, which defines mystification as a literary form that seeks to enlighten by means of deception.
Learning from Lying narrates a new literary history as seen through the lens of mystification. Beginning with an examination of mystification's elaboration during the century of Enlightenment, the book accounts for mystification's distinctiveness relative to other deceptive forms, particularly forgery, and provides a timely intervention in current debates about the study of fakes. Readings of works by Denis Diderot, Prosper Merimee, and Wolfgang Hildesheimer follow out the cosmopolitan roots of the genre in the Republic of Letters and show how it theorizes literature through practical experiment. For when textual imitation is revealed, it unveils the necessary collusion between reader and writer that allows literature to exist as such.

195 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Stephen Sorensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book traces the evolution of mystification from the 18th century through the 20th century. The read is less than 200 pages total and I think it’s a good introduction to the topic of literary mystification. I’ll definitely be reading and referencing this again in the future.