Spiritualism and Women's Writing : From the Fin De Siècle to the Neo-Victorian

Using a wide range of unexplored archival material, this book examines the 'spectral' influence of Victorian spiritualism and Psychical Research on women's writing, analyzing the ways in which modern writers have both subverted and mimicked nineteenth century sources in their evocation of the séance. This original and imaginative study examines the influence of Victorian spiritualism and Psychical Research on a variety of modern and contemporary female authors. It explores both the material and ghostly connections between women's writing - particularly the work of Mich le Roberts, A.S. Byatt, Victoria Glendinning and Sarah Waters - and the practice of mediumship in the nineteenth century. For the first time, it provides a sustained analysis of how and why the haunted world of Victorian spiritualism has been appropriated and reimagined in late twentieth-century fiction. In addition, it shows how many of the apparently unprecedented innovations of modernism are in fact already present in the rituals, performances and documents of the Victorian s ance. Supported by compelling archival research throughout, the book not only demonstrates how a unique selection of nineteenth- and twentieth-century texts are bound together by phantasmal ties but also shows how spiritualism forces us to reconsider our wider understanding of history, narrative and the afterlife. This original and imaginative study examines the influence of Victorian spiritualism and Psychical Research on a variety of modern and contemporary female authors. It explores both the material and ghostly connections between women's writing - particularly the work of Micḧle Roberts, A.S. Byatt, Victoria Glendinning and Sarah Waters - and the practice of mediumship in the nineteenth century. For the first time, it provides a sustained analysis of how and why the haunted world of Victorian spiritualism has been appropriated and reimagined in late twentieth-century fiction. In addition, it shows how many of the apparently unprecedented innovations of modernism are in fact already present in the rituals, performances and documents of the Victorian šance. Supported by compelling archival research throughout, the book not only demonstrates how a unique selection of nineteenth- and twentieth-century texts are bound together by phantasmal ties but also shows how spiritualism forces us to reconsider our wider understanding of history, narrative and the afterlife Front Matter....Pages i-x Introduction....Pages 1-14 Theatres in the Skull: The Society for Psychical Research and Actress Narratives....Pages 15-42 Well-tuned Mediums: May Sinclair and Dorothy Richardson....Pages 43-80 Phantasms of Florence Cook in Michèle Roberts’ In the Red Kitchen....Pages 81-113 Natural and Spiritual Evolutions: A. S. Byatt’s Angels and Insects....Pages 114-146 The Other World Illuminated: Wiring Science, Text and Spirit in Victoria Glendinning’s Electricity....Pages 147-171 Queering the Séance: Sarah Waters’ Affinity....Pages 172-198 Conclusion....Pages 199-203 Back Matter....Pages 204-245 Theatres in the skull: the society for physical research and actress narratives Well-tuned mediums: May Sinclair and Dorothy Richardson Phantasms of Florence Cook in Miche le Roberts' In the red kitchen Natural and spiritual evolutions: A.S. Byatt's Angels and insects The other world illuminated: writing science, text and spirit in Victoria Glendinning's Electricity Queering the se ance: Sarah Waters' Affinity. Using a wide range of unexplored archival material, this book examines the 'spectral' influence of Victorian spiritualism and Psychical Research on women's writing, analyzing the ways in which modern writers have both subverted and mimicked 19th-century sources in their evocation of the seance