Synopses & Reviews
* Nominated for a New York Historical Society Book Prize in American History * Honorable Mention in General Nonfiction from the American Society of Journalists and Authors Here is the first authoritative biography of Margaret Fox, the world-famous medium and cofounder of the Spiritualism movement that swept America in the mid-1800s. In 1848, fifteen-year-old Maggie and her sister Katy created rapping sounds by manipulating their toe joints, practicing until they convinced their parents that their farmhouse was haunted. What started as a prank soon transformed into a movement: By 1853 more than thirty thousand mediums were at work, with Maggie among the most famous. But when she denounced the faith in 1888-appearing before a packed auditorium in her stocking feet to demonstrate-Spiritualism withered almost as quickly as it had bloomed.
Through the memoirs of the Fox sisters, the letters of Maggie's Arctic explorer husband, contemporary newspaper accounts, and other primary sources, Nancy Rubin Stuart creates a vibrant portrait of a Victorian-era woman at the heart of the tumults of her time.
Review
PRAISE FOR
THE RELUCTANT SPIRITUALIST"Fascinating . . .The great strength of Stuart's book is that she provides the necessary historical context, and shows the deception gathering force by slow degrees against a climate of willing belief." - The Washington Post
"Stuart has created a richly sympathetic portrait of a fascinating and tragic woman, trapped by her family, her times, and her own aching heart." - The Boston Globe
Review
"Fast-paced. Highly readable and entertaining." Publishers Weekly
Review
"Fascinating. Stuart convincingly places the Fox sisters at a nexus of social and political change."<br><br> Washington Post
Review
Absorbing. This lively account sets the workings of these talented con artists in a broad historical context. Columbus Dispatch
Review
"In this painstakingly researched biography, Stuart opens an illuminating window on an era and a movement." <br> Booklist
Review
"A richly sympathetic portrait of a fascinating, tragic woman, trapped by her family, her times, and her own aching heart." Boston Globe
Review
"This Victorian seance book becomes right-on." Jane
Review
"Diligently researched biography...capably chronicles this period of religious ferment....A persuasive study of an unusual life." Kirkus
About the Author
NANCY RUBIN STUART is an award-winning author, journalist, and producer who specializes in women and social history. She also serves as one of the directors of the Women Writing Women's Lives Seminar at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. She lives in New York City.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Humble Beginnings
2. The Spirit of a Dream
3. "A Mere Fraud Could Not Live So Long"
4. "So Continuously in the Public Eye"
5. "Justice is sure, though sometimes very slow"
6. "Remember then, as a sort of dream"
7. "But for the Polar Ices"
8. Hope Deferred
9. "A Sort of Sanctuary"
10. "That You May Know the Sacred Love"
11. "A Cloud of Reproach"
12. The Highest Right
13. Great Magnetism and Remorse
14. "A Clean Breast of All Her Miracles and Wonders"
15. "An Unmistakable Individual Intelligence"
epilogue
acknowledgments
end notes
bibliography 365
index 381