The Golden Bough (Masterplots, Revised Second Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Sir James George Frazer
- Type of Work: Anthropology
- Genres: Nonfiction, Anthropology
- Subjects: Mythology or myths, Religion, Jews or Jewish life, Christianity, Legends, Folklore, Cults, Rites or ceremonies, Anthropology or anthropologists, Judaism, Sacrifice, Priests, Fables, Druids and Druidism
Critical Evaluation:
The Golden Bough, perhaps the most famous work in anthropology, began appearing in 1890. Originally intended as a two-volume work, Sir James George Frazer eventually expanded it to twelve volumes, the last of which appeared in 1915. In 1936, he added a supplementary volume, Aftermath. The work is undoubtedly best known in the one-volume abridgment that Frazer published in 1922, which was subsequently revised by Theodore Gaster in 1959.
Although many of Frazer’s ideas have been superseded in the intervening years, his overall thesis...
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