Queen Victoria’s reign was one of breathtaking social change, yet roles for most women remained rigid and narrow. The “angel in the house” rarely expressed an opinion, and certainly not one that challenged the status quo.
But not so within the social sphere of the seance–a mysterious, lamplit world dominated by enterprising women whose apparent ability to move between the realms of the dead and the living rewarded them with otherwise unthinkable fame and power. Such talents allowed them to cross rigid boundaries of gender and class, and to summon unique political voices–voices capable of reaching some of the era’s most famous personalities, including even Victoria herself.
Out of the Shadows, which draws on original diaries, letters, and memoirs, tells the stories of six such visionary Victorians. The clairvoyance of Kate, Leah, and Maggie Fox, three sisters from upstate New York, inspired some of the era’s best-known female suffrage activists and set off an international séance craze. British performer Emma Hardinge Britten left behind a career on Broadway for the life of a “trance lecturer,” whose oration on the death of Abraham Lincoln was celebrated by tens of thousands. The meteoric rise of Victoria Woodhull, born into poverty in Ohio, took her from childhood medium to Wall Street broker to America’s first female presidential candidate. And Georgina Weldon, whose interest in spiritualism nearly saw her confined to an asylum, went on to become a favorite of the press and a successful campaigner against Britain’s archaic lunacy laws.
Praise for OUT OF THE SHADOWS
'In this fast-paced, engaging book, Emily Midorikawa shows that, for six nineteenth-century women, communicating with the dead was the best way of claiming a public voice. No stereotype of Victorian ladyhood survives. From Wall Street to presidential campaigns, from the courtroom to the stage, these women captivated their audiences and made serious claims about society in the process. Midorikawa tells their stories with sensitivity and grace, moving between the personal, the political, and the phantasmagoric with a sure step and a keen eye for detail.' Mo Moulton, author of Mutual Admiration Society: How Dorothy L. Sayers and Her Oxford Circle Remade the World For Women
'I was captivated by Midorikawa’s vivid portraits of Victorian-era women who used their Spiritualism to rise from obscurity and poverty to astonishing, often dizzying, social and political influence.Out of the Shadows brings to the fore the forgotten histories of these bold, radical, ambitious and complicated women, who campaigned for women’s equal rights and suffrage, and even to become America’s first female president - all while channeling the voices and guidance of the dead. Meticulously researched, engrossing, poignant and often very humorous, Out of the Shadows does a huge service to feminist history.' Susan Barker, author of The Incarnations
'Public speaking was a disreputable occupation for Victorian-era women—unless they were communicating with the dead, a skill that turned out to be much in demand and often quite lucrative. Emily Midorikawa's account of six women who were adept at working psychic miracles offers a fascinating new view of fame, belief, and feminism.' Laura Shapiro, author of What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women and the Food That Tells Their Stories
'This book is a treasure—a little known history about forgotten movers and shakers, women who influenced our country in unimaginable, and unseen (to say the least) ways. Reader: you need this book! Take it home with you and learn about a potent part of our history that you didn't know you needed to know. Written with seamless clarity, Midorikawa has produced another true gem. I LOVE THIS BOOK.' Mira Ptacin, author of The In-Betweens: The Spiritualists, Mediums, and Legends of Camp Etna
'Astonishing, gripping and almost eerily timely. Midorikawa’s tender, elegant prose is a joy to read and her fascination with her subjects irresistible.' Julie Myerson, author of The Stopped Heart
'If you've been bored or frustrated by superficial groupings of women described as "badass," "daring," or "fearless," only to discover the text is basically linked Wikipedia articles, congratulations, you found what you were looking for all along: An actual scholar who quotes salacious diary entries and intimate letters alongside essential context and cutting analysis. I'm now an Emily Midorikawa completest, and I'm quite certain you'll soon be, too.' Alexis Coe, New York Times bestselling author of You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington
'A well-researched, fresh contribution to women’s history.' Kirkus
'Midorikawa’s chosen Spiritualists are a colorful bunch, and her lively writing makes their careers fun to follow.' New York Times
'The author does an excellent job of characterizing the social milieu and constraints that these women were subject to... This well-researched book offers insight into a unique niche of women's history, and would be a worthy addition to most libraries.' Booklist
'This is the great strength of Out of the Shadows; it offers up a tapestry of complex characters with conflicted motivations, woven together with the color of ghostly apparitions (and angry mobs). . . . Out of the Shadows pivots between the women’s extraordinary savvy, intelligence and performance and the frequently unethical and exploitative means they adopted to achieve their ends.' Brandy Schillace, Wall Street Journal
‘Midorikawa breathes life into these long-ago women in ways that make them feel contemporary despite their extraordinary circumstances and distance in time … By the book’s end, it no longer matters whether you believe these six remarkable spirit mediums were hoaxes or not; you’ll certainly believe in them.’ BookPage (Starred review)
'This enjoyable group biography presents Maggie and Kate, along with Leah Fox (their sister), Emma Hardinge Britten, Victoria Woodhull, and Georgina Weldon, as examples of Spiritualism's role in first-wave feminism . . . Brisk and entertaining, this biography should draw the attention of readers interested in the social effects of the Spiritualist movement, or in 19th-century women's history.' Library Journal
'A thrilling read, striking inter alia for the nonchalance with which these female Victorian visionaries took on the rigours of transatlantic travel, and for the incidental intertwining of their remarkable lives' New York Journal of Books
‘Fortunately, Midorikawa provides prints of portraits and several other illustrations, or, despite all her research, who would believe that such women existed in Victorian times? Their lives told more about the future than they could possibly have foreseen.’ the Times Literary Supplement
