Introduction Part I. Bones of Contention or Professionals, Dilettantes, and Who Owns History 1.1 A A"social dramaA" at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 1.2 From breach to crisis 1.3 No redress, or where are Levski's bones? 1.4 A socialist public sphere? 1.5 A"ProfessionalsA" and A"dilettantesA" 1.6 Recognizing the schism or what is worse: bad professionals or good nationalists? Part II. The Apostle of Freedom or What Makes a Hero? 2.1 What is a hero and are heroes born? 2.2 The A"makingA" of Vasil Levski 2.3 A banner for all causes: appropriating the hero 2.4 Contesting the hero 2.5 The literary and visual hypostases of the hero 2.6 From hero for all to dissident and back Part III. The National Hero as Secular Saint: The Canonization of Levski 3.1 The split or how a bicephalous organism functions 3.2 The canonization and its implications 3.3 Levski and the Bulgarian church: memory and narration 3.4 The orchestration of a grass-roots cultus 3.5 Commemoration, ritual and the sacred 3.6 Heroes and saints: the dialectics of reincarnation Conclusion; Appendices; Index
Maria N. Todorova is Professor at the Department of History, University of Illinois. She specializes in the history of the Balkans in the modern period. Recent book-length publications include Balkan Identities: Nation and Memory (2004), Imagining the Balkans (1997), edited volumes and articles on social and cultural history, historical demography, and historiography of the Balkans in the 19th and 20th centuries.
"An enjoyable but daunting volume; Maria Todorova entertains with
straightforward prose while she tackles a subject that is in its
breadth and depth unusually complex. Todorova's book arrives at a
promising moment in the evolution of nationalism studies. The
author engages several theoretical debates, and in doing so revives
the quest for impartiality in academic research."
*American Historical Review*
"A complex, clever, and compelling book. It is an excellent guide
to a major nineteenth-century revolutionary figure, and it provides
a fascinating study in the political exploitation and manipulation
of legend and myth."
*Journal of Modern History*
"This book is many things, but foremost it is a detailed analysis
of the social and political processes that crafted a
nineteenth-century Bulgarian revolutionary, Vasil Levski, into the
most admired and revered hero in Bulgaria. Although the current
representation of his revolutionary actions would suggest that this
was inevitable, Maria Todorova shows that this was not necessarily
the case. His ascendancy to the pinnacle of Bulgaria’s heroic
pantheon was a result of continual contestation and debate from his
death in 1873 through the 1920s. As his preeminence was
consolidated, different groups with opposing political philosophies
all tapped into his celebrity to advance their platforms, further
enhancing his aura and elevating him toward saintly status. This is
an impressive piece of scholarship demonstrating meticulous
historical research with both primary and secondary sources
combined with engaging personal expositions based on the author’s
close connection to some of the major protagonists and events. It
is an important contribution to scholarship in both method and
content. It is also an important contribution to the literature on
nationalism generally, particularly the growing interest in
varieties of nationalisms. The book thus speaks to multiple
disciplines, including history, political science, sociology, and
anthropology. It is also augmented by a lovely collection of color
prints that further enhance its readability. The result is an
outstanding book that combines the best of the historian’s craft
with novel innovations"
*Slavic Review*
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