Source books · Mesmerism and Spiritualism
Modern Spiritualism: A History and a Criticism
How this book fits
- Traditions
- Mesmerism and Spiritualism
- Role in the tradition
- Secondary source A study of the tradition from outside it: history, scholarship, anthropology or reference.
- Public attention
- Unmeasured No Wikidata entry could be matched to this book with confidence, so no attention label was assigned.
Read it
- Internet Archive scan of volume 1 ↗ archive.org checked October 20, 2026
In this study
A two-volume history and critical examination of modern Spiritualism by Frank Podmore, a member of the Society for Psychical Research. It follows the subject from possession and animal magnetism through American and British mediumship.
In volume 1's introduction (pp. xi–xv), Podmore argues that nineteenth-century Spiritualism inherited practices and interpretations from animal magnetism. He treats the rappings of 1848 as confirmation of an existing belief rather than the movement's sole beginning. His account is a period critical source, not a neutral modern survey.