Born of the Victorian "pseudoscience" of mesmerism, the séance enjoyed a late 19th century golden age that ministered to the Victorian obsession with science, religious doubt, and entertainment. Mediums, psychics, and somnambulists were investigated by amateur sleuths and by such scientists as Faraday and Darwin, and their performances were imitated and exposed by magicians, denounced by clerics, and satirized hilariously in the press. A revelatory exploration of the darker side of Victorian science, this narrative-driven history is full of literary and scientific anecdote and evocative depiction of 19th century England. 304pgs. 6x9". Softcover.