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The Reluctant Spiritualist
The Life of Maggie Fox
Nancy Rubin Stuart
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Synopsis |
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* 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.
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Praise |
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"In this painstakingly researched biography, Stuart opens an illuminating window on an era and a movement." <br>
Booklist,
"A richly sympathetic portrait of a fascinating, tragic woman, trapped by her family, her times, and her own aching heart."
Boston Globe,
"This Victorian seance book becomes right-on."
Jane,
"Diligently researched biography...capably chronicles this period of religious ferment....A persuasive study of an unusual life."
Kirkus,
"Fast-paced. Highly readable and entertaining."
Publishers Weekly,
"Fascinating. Stuart convincingly places the Fox sisters at a nexus of social and political change."<br><br>
Washington Post,
Absorbing. This lively account sets the workings of these talented con artists in a broad historical context.
Columbus Dispatch,
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Biography |
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Nancy Rubin Stuart is the author of several books, including American Empress: The Life and Times of Marjorie Merriweather Post and Isabella of Castile: The First Renaissance Queen. Her articles have appeared in the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, among other publications. She lives in New York City.
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General Subjects |
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Biography & Autobiography- Women
Body, Mind & Spirit- Supernatural
History- United States/General
Biography & Autobiography- Religious
Biography & Autobiography- General
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Academic Disciplines & Course Studies |
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Interdisciplinary Studies- Women's Studies
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Social Sciences- History-American
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Rights Details |
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Second Serial/Audio/Reprint: Harcourt
First Serial/Performance/UK/Translation: Stuart Krichevsky Literary Agency, Inc.
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Rights Information |
Harcourt Books
An imprint ofHarcourt Trade Publishers
A
Harcourt Education Company
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