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  3. Cambridge Library Collection - Spiritualism and Esoteric Knowledge

Magic, superstition, the occult sciences and esoteric knowledge appear regularly in the history of ideas alongside more established academic disciplines such as philosophy, natural history and theology. Particularly fascinating are periods of rapid scientific advances such as the Renaissance or the nineteenth century, which also see a burgeoning of interest in the paranormal among the educated elite. This series provides primary texts and secondary sources for social historians and cultural anthropologists working in these areas, and all who wish for a wider understanding of the diverse intellectual and spiritual movements that formed a backdrop to the academic and political achievements of their day. It ranges from works on Babylonian and Jewish magic in the ancient world, through studies of sixteenth-century topics such as Cornelius Agrippa and the rapid spread of Rosicrucianism, to nineteenth-century publications by Sir Walter Scott and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Subjects include astrology, mesmerism, spiritualism, theosophy, clairvoyance and ghost-seeing, as described both by their adherents and by sceptics.

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145 results in Cambridge Library Collection - Spiritualism and Esoteric Knowledge

Page 8 of 8

Incidents in My Life
  • Volume 1
  • Daniel Dunglas Home
  • Published online:
    05 August 2011
    Print publication:
    10 March 2011
    First published in:
    1863
  • D. D. Home (1833–1886), the famous spiritualist and medium, here documents the extraordinary psychic events in his life. Originally published in 1863, this is the first of two autobiographical volumes by Home, the second appearing nine years later. Home describes mysterious phenomena from his very first vision at the age of thirteen to the séances he held for the rich and famous in England, France, Italy and Russia. He astonished his receptive audiences with startling paranormal feats including levitation. His hosts included Napoleon III, Prince Humbert (later Humbert I of Italy), Charles Darwin's cousin Sir Francis Galton, and many other celebrities and aristocrats. Interwoven with these high-profile activities, Home describes his personal life - the early death of his first wife, his subsequent financial difficulties, and his ongoing battle with tuberculosis. Incidents in My Life presents a fascinating insight into the phenomenon of spiritualism during the Victorian period.

Phantasms of the Living
  • Volume 1
  • Edmund Gurney, Frederic William Henry Myers, Frank Podmore
  • Published online:
    05 August 2011
    Print publication:
    19 May 2011
    First published in:
    1886
  • This two-volume work, co-authored by Edmund Gurney (1847–1888), Frederic W. H. Myers (1843–1901) and Frank Podmore (1856–1910), all leading members of the Society for Psychical Research, was first published in 1886. It documents over 700 case studies of ghost-seeing, and aimed to revolutionise thinking about ghosts by proposing a theory that explained ghost-seeing through the idea of telepathy. Volume 1 includes an introduction by Myers and an explanation of the analytical methods used in the study. It then focuses on hypnotism, the telepathic transference of ideas, mental pictures and emotional impressions, dreams, and hallucinations, and contains an impressive essay on the history of witchcraft. This pioneering study is an indispensable source for the history of psychical research. It provides detailed insights into the Victorian fascination with the occult and the supernatural, and is still the most extensive collection of ghost-seeing accounts available.

Dictionnaire Infernal
  • Rêpertoire Universel des Ètres, des Personnages, des Livres, des Faits et des Choses
  • Jacques-Albin-Simon Collin de Plancy
  • Published online:
    05 August 2011
    Print publication:
    19 May 2011
    First published in:
    1845
  • Immensely popular in nineteenth-century France, this substantial book went through five editions between 1818 and 1863. It is an A–Z encyclopedia of the occult sciences, listing notable practitioners and books, superstitions, demons, spirits and other phenomena associated with magic, divination, sooth-saying and the supernatural. Its author, the prolific Collin de Plancy (1794–1881), moved to Paris in 1812. He owned a bookshop and speculated in property, a venture which resulted in his exile to Brussels. In 1837, he returned to Paris, rejected his earlier anticlericalism, and converted to Catholicism. The preface to the 1845 edition of his Dictionnaire Infernal, reissued here, claims its purpose is to refute error, banish superstition, and explain literary symbols and imagery.Significantly, the preface and the book's concluding paragraph affirm the Church's role as a source of truth, and the book carries the approval of the archbishop of Paris.

Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft
  • Addressed to J. G. Lockhart
  • Walter Scott
  • Published online:
    05 August 2011
    Print publication:
    27 January 2011
    First published in:
    1830
  • Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832) is best known for his poetry and for historical novels such as Ivanhoe and Rob Roy, but he also had a lifelong fascination with witchcraft and the occult. Following a spell of ill-health, Scott was encouraged by his son-in-law, publisher J. G. Lockhart, to put together a volume examining the causes of paranormal phenomena. This collection of letters, first published in 1830, is notable for both its scope (examining social, cultural, medical and psychological factors in peoples' paranormal experiences) and its clear, rational standpoint. Scott explores the influence of Christianity on evolving views of what is classified as 'witchcraft' or 'evil', and he explains the many (often innocuous) meanings of the word 'witch'. Written with palpable enthusiasm and from a strikingly modern perspective, this volume explores a range of topics including fairies, elves and fortune-telling as well as inquisitions and witch trials.

Mesmerism, Spiritualism, etc.
  • Historically and Scientifically Considered
  • William Benjamin Carpenter
  • Published online:
    05 August 2011
    Print publication:
    20 January 2011
    First published in:
    1877
  • William Carpenter (1813–1885) was a leading medical teacher and researcher in London. Although much of his work focused on physiology and the nervous system, he spent a considerable amount of time investigating questions surrounding the relationship between science and religion. He participated in many debates on this issue, and was a member of the prestigious Metaphysical Society, which explored scientific and religious connections. In Mesmerism, Spiritualism, etc. Historically and Scientifically Considered, two of his lectures published in 1877, Carpenter sets out to question on scientific grounds the many spiritualist beliefs that were gaining popularity throughout Britain. His work covers topics such as odylism, electro-biology, thought-reading and clairvoyance. He locates these practices in historical contexts that often stretch back to ancient times, and gives modern scientific explanations for certain phenomena, all with the aim of stifling what he called 'epidemic delusions'.

Page 8 of 8