Second Sight in the Nineteenth Century

Prophecy, Imagination and Nationhood

AvElsa Richardson

Inbunden, Engelska, 2017

Del i serien Palgrave Studies in Literature, Science and Medicine

1 378 kr

Beställningsvara. Skickas inom 10-15 vardagar. Fri frakt över 249 kr.

Fler format och utgåvor

E-bok

1 747 kr

Beskrivning

This book explores the phenomenon of second sight in nineteenth-century literature and culture. Second sight is a form of prophetic vision associated with the folklore of the Scottish Highlands and Islands. Described in Gaelic as the An-da-shealladh or ‘the two sights’, those in possession of this extraordinary power are said to foresee future events like the death of neighbour, the arrival of strangers into the community, the success or failure of a fishing trip. From the late seventeenth century onwards, rumours of this strange faculty attracted the attention of numerous scientists, travel writers, antiquarians, poets and artists. Focusing on the nineteenth century, this book examines second sight in relation to mesmerism and phrenology, modern spiritualism and anthropology, romance literature and folklorism and finally, psychical research and Celtic mysticism. Tracing the migration of a supposedly ‘Scottish’ tradition through various sites of nineteenth-century popular culture, it explores questions of nationhood and identity alongside those posed by supernatural phenomena.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2017-06-13
Mått:148 x 210 x 20 mm
Vikt:463 g
Format:Inbunden
Språk:Engelska
Serie:Palgrave Studies in Literature, Science and Medicine
Antal sidor:260
Upplaga:17001
Förlag:Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN:9781137519696

Utforska kategorier

Litteraturvetenskap inom Skönlitteratur
Litteraturvetenskap inom Skönlitteratur

Mer om författaren

Elsa Richardson is Lecturer of History at the University of Strathclyde, Scotland, where she is affiliated with the Centre for the Social History of Health and Healthcare and the Scottish Centre for Victorian and Neo-Victorian Studies. She researches and publishes on the historical interactions between medicine and the imagination, science and the supernatural, psychology and the occult.

Recensioner i media

“Second Sight in the Nineteenth Century: Prophecy, Imagination and Nationhood is its interdisciplinarity. Richardson convincingly draws readers through the entanglements of positivist scientific discourse, literary aesthetic production, and nationalist rhetoric to argue that each participated in a larger project: the colonization of the Scottish imagination.” (Jayda Coons, The Wilkie Collins Journal, wilkiecollinssociety.org, April 25, 2019)

Innehållsförteckning

Introduction.- Chapter One: Second Sight and the Creation of the Highlands.- Chapter Two: Mesmerism, Phrenology and Supernatural History.- Chapter Three: Primitive Spiritualism and Origin Stories.- Chapter Four: Psychical Research, Folklore and Romance.- Chapter Five: Research in the Field: Ada Goodrich Freer and Fiona Macleod.- Conclusion.- Bibliography.- Index.