Altered States
eBook - PDF

Altered States

Sex, Nation, Drugs, and Self-Transformation in Victorian Spiritualism

  1. 260 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Altered States

Sex, Nation, Drugs, and Self-Transformation in Victorian Spiritualism

About this book

Considers the role of Spiritualism in Victorian culture.

Altered States examines the rise of Spiritualism-the religion of séances, mediums, and ghostly encounters-in the Victorian period and the role it played in undermining both traditional female roles and the rhetoric of imperialism. Focusing on a particular kind of séance event-the full-form materialization-and the bodies of the young, female mediums who performed it, Marlene Tromp argues that in the altered state of the séance new ways of understanding identity and relationships became possible. This not only demonstrably shaped the thinking of the Spiritualists, but also the popular consciousness of the period. In diaries, letters, newspaper accounts, scientific reports, and popular fiction, Tromp uncovers evidence that the radical views presented in the faith permeated and influenced mainstream Victorian thought.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription.
No, books cannot be downloaded as external files, such as PDFs, for use outside of Perlego. However, you can download books within the Perlego app for offline reading on mobile or tablet. Learn more here.
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
  • Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
  • Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Both plans are available with monthly, semester, or annual billing cycles.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn more here.
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS or Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access Altered States by Marlene Tromp in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Social Sciences & 19th Century History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. ALTERED STATES
  2. C o n t e n t s
  3. I l l u s t r a t i o n s
  4. A c k n o w l e d g m e n t s
  5. INTRODUCTION: Performing Readings
  6. 1. Spirited Sexuality: Sex, Marriage and Victorian Spiritualism
  7. 2. Wedding Stories/ Ghost Stories
  8. 3. Ghostly Erotics and Imperialism in the Victorian Drawing Room
  9. 4. Economics, Race and the Spector of Class
  10. 5. Drunk with Power: Stories of Ghostly Others
  11. 6. Under the Influence: The Fox Sisters and Pernicious Spirits
  12. 7. Haunted: Elizabeth d ’ Espérance, Social Justice, and the Evolution of Mediumship
  13. N o t e s
  14. B i b l i o g r a p h y
  15. Index