The literary forgeries of James Macpherson and Thomas Chatterton are studied within the context of the eighteenth-century debate about the validity of using literature as a historical source and history as a literary topic.

本书描绘了不同历史时期的艺术赝品与文学伪著,分析伪造的动机,追溯伪造的历史,阐述伪造的政治,展现大众对伪造的态度,探讨伪作对于艺术家与艺术品的意义所在.