BIBLIO is the largest independent book marketplace in the world, with over 100 million books.

Skip to content

Wayward Contracts: The Crisis of Political Obligation in England, 1640-1674
Stock photo: cover may vary

Wayward Contracts: The Crisis of Political Obligation in England, 1640-1674 Hardback - 2004

by Victoria Kahn

Add to wish list

Reader reviews for Wayward Contracts: The Crisis of Political Obligation in England, 1640-1674

Write a review for this book

There are no reviews for this book yet. Be the first to write a review!

Your review will be anonymous unless you login or create an account first.

Overall rating
Remember: You’re rating the book as a work, not the seller or the condition of the specific copy you purchased!

Important Terms and Guidelines

  • Please focus on the book’s content and context. Also, add any personal comments as to how you enjoyed the book. Substantiate your likes and dislikes. You may make comparisons to other books.
  • Reviews must be at least 140 characters in length.
  • Please do not reveal critical plot elements.
  • This is not a help line. Contact customer support if you need help.
Your review must not include:
  • Obscenities, discriminatory language, or other insulting language not suitable for public domain
  • Advertisements, “spam” content, or references to other products, offers or websites.
  • Email addresses, URLs, phone numbers, physical addresses or other contact information.
  • Overly critical comments about other reviews or reviewers
  • Time-sensitive material (i.e. promotional tours, seminars, lectures, etc.)
  • Availability, price, or alternative ordering/shipping information

From the publisher

Why did the language of contract become the dominant metaphor for the relationship between subject and sovereign in mid-seventeenth-century England? In Wayward Contracts, Victoria Kahn takes issue with the usual explanation for the emergence of contract theory in terms of the origins of liberalism, with its notions of autonomy, liberty, and equality before the law.

Drawing on literature as well as political theory, state trials as well as religious debates, Kahn argues that the sudden prominence of contract theory was part of the linguistic turn of early modern culture, when government was imagined in terms of the poetic power to bring new artifacts into existence. But this new power also brought in its wake a tremendous anxiety about the contingency of obligation and the instability of the passions that induce individuals to consent to a sovereign power. In this wide-ranging analysis of the cultural significance of contract theory, the lover and the slave, the tyrant and the regicide, the fool and the liar emerge as some of the central, if wayward, protagonists of the new theory of political obligation. The result is must reading for students and scholars of early modern literature and early modern political theory, as well as historians of political thought and of liberalism.

From the rear cover

"This is an utterly remarkable book. Kahn is an immensely gifted historian of political theory--though that conventional pigeonhole threatens to obscure much of what is distinctive about her work. Here Kahn effortlessly breaks new ground and overturns longstanding orthodoxies. Whether she is flyspecking well-worn passages in Milton or exploring obscure works by Percy Herbert, Kahn is original and perceptive. She has illuminating things to say about the texts and about the big-picture theoretical stakes, and those two enterprises fit together very nicely indeed."--Don Herzog, University of Michigan, author of Poisoning the Minds of the Lower Orders

Details

  • Title Wayward Contracts: The Crisis of Political Obligation in England, 1640-1674
  • Author Victoria Kahn
  • Binding Hardback
  • Edition First edition.
  • Pages 384
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Princeton University Press
  • Publication date 2004-09
  • ISBN 9780691117737 / 069111773X
  • Weight 1.44 lbs (0.65 kg)
  • Dimensions 9.25 x 6 x 1 in (23.50 x 15.24 x 2.54 cm)
  • Category History - Military / War
  • Library of Congress subjects English literature - Early modern, 1500-1700, Great Britain - Politics and government -
  • Library of Congress Catalogue Number 20040428500
  • Dewey Decimal Code 940.4

About the author

Victoria Kahn is Professor of English and Bernie H. Williams Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of California, Berkeley. She is the author of Machiavellian Rhetoric (Princeton).
Back to top↑

More Copies for Sale

Wayward Contracts: The Crisis of Political Obligation in England, 1640-1674
Stock photo: cover may vary

Wayward Contracts: The Crisis of Political Obligation in England, 1640-1674

by Kahn, Victoria

  • Used
  • Good
  • Hardback
  • first
Condition
Good
Edition
1st Edition
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780691117737 / 069111773x
Quantity available
1
Seller
Books Do Furnish A Room
Item price
A$50.38
A$7.77 Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Princeton University Press, 2004. Book. Good. Hardcover. 1st Edition. Marginal marks. Dust jacket glossy. Base of spine bumped. Binding square & firm..
Add to wish list
Item price
A$50.38
A$7.77 Delivery to USA
Wayward Contracts: The Crisis of Political Obligation in England, 1640-1674
Stock photo: cover may vary

Wayward Contracts: The Crisis of Political Obligation in England, 1640-1674

by Kahn, Victoria

  • Used
  • Hardback
  • first
Condition
Used
Edition
First Edition
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780691117737 / 069111773X
Quantity available
1
Seller
Ergodebooks
Item price
A$67.90
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Princeton University Press, 2004-09-19. First Edition. hardcover. Used: Good. 6.50x1.25x9.25. Buy with confidence. Excellent Customer Service & Return policy.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$67.90
Free Delivery to USA
Wayward Contracts The Crisis of Political Obligation in England, 1640-1674
More photos

Wayward Contracts The Crisis of Political Obligation in England, 1640-1674

by Victoria Kahn

  • Used
  • Good
  • Hardback
Condition
Good
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780691117737 / 069111773X
Quantity available
1
Seller
True Oak Books
Biblio Top Seller
Item price
A$71.96
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Princeton University Press. Good. 2004. Hardcover. The book shows light average wear. Dust cover is missing.; - We're committed to your satisfaction. We offer free returns and respond promptly to all inquiries. Your item will be carefully wrapped in bubble wrap and securely boxed. All orders ship on the same or next business day. Buy with confidence. .
Add to wish list
Item price
A$71.96
Free Delivery to USA
Wayward Contracts: The Crisis of Political Obligation in England, 1640-1674
Stock photo: cover may vary

Wayward Contracts: The Crisis of Political Obligation in England, 1640-1674

by Kahn, Victoria

  • Used
  • Good
  • Hardback
Condition
Good
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780691117737 / 069111773X
Quantity available
1
Seller
Bonita
Item price
A$78.58
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
hardcover. Good. Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items. May be an ex-library book.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$78.58
Free Delivery to USA
Wayward Contracts: The Crisis of Political Obligation in England, 1640-1674 [Hardcover] Kahn,...
Stock photo: cover may vary

Wayward Contracts: The Crisis of Political Obligation in England, 1640-1674 [Hardcover] Kahn, Victoria

  • Used
Condition
New
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780691117737 / 069111773X
Quantity available
5
Seller
Mediaoutletdeal1
Item price
A$201.83
A$5.74 Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Like New. 0x0x0.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$201.83
A$5.74 Delivery to USA
Wayward Contracts: The Crisis of Political Obligation in England, 1640-1674
Stock photo: cover may vary

Wayward Contracts: The Crisis of Political Obligation in England, 1640-1674

by Kahn, Victoria

  • New
  • Hardback
Condition
New
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780691117737 / 069111773X
Quantity available
1
Seller
GridFreed LLC
Item price
A$228.05
A$8.57 Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Princeton University Press, 2004-09-19. Hardcover. New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title!
Add to wish list
Item price
A$228.05
A$8.57 Delivery to USA
Wayward Contracts: The Crisis of Political Obligation in England, 1640-1674 [Hardcover] Kahn,...
Stock photo: cover may vary

Wayward Contracts: The Crisis of Political Obligation in England, 1640-1674 [Hardcover] Kahn, Victoria

  • New
Condition
New
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780691117737 / 069111773X
Quantity available
5
Seller
Mediaoutletdeal1
Item price
A$284.96
A$5.74 Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
New.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$284.96
A$5.74 Delivery to USA
Wayward Contracts: The Crisis of Political Obligation in England, 1640-1674
Stock photo: cover may vary

Wayward Contracts: The Crisis of Political Obligation in England, 1640-1674

by Kahn, Victoria

  • New
  • Hardback
  • first
Condition
New
Edition
First Edition
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780691117737 / 069111773X
Quantity available
6
Seller
Ergodebooks
Item price
A$376.36
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Princeton University Press, 2004-09-19. First Edition. hardcover. New. 6.50x1.25x9.25. Buy with confidence. Excellent Customer Service & Return policy.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$376.36
Free Delivery to USA
Show all copies
Back to top↑

Please wait a moment while we load the requested page.