The Wanderings of a Spiritualist

by Arthur Conan Doyle

-- This is a First paragraph of The Wanderings of a Spiritualist --

This is an account of the wanderings of a spiritualist, geographical and speculative. Should the reader have no interest in psychic things—if indeed any human being can be so foolish as not to be interested in his own nature and fate,—then this is the place to put the book down. It were better also to end the matter now if you have no patience with a go-as-you-please style of narrative, which founds itself upon the conviction that thought may be as interesting as action, and which is bound by its very nature to be intensely personal. I write a record of what absorbs my mind which may be very different from that which appeals to yours. But if you are content to come with me upon these terms then let us start with my apologies in advance for the pages which may bore you, and with my hopes that some may compensate you by pleasure or by profit. I write these lines with a pad upon my knee, heaving upon[10] the long roll of the Indian Ocean, running large and grey under a grey streaked sky, with the rain-swept hills of Ceylon, just one shade greyer, lining the Eastern skyline. So under many difficulties it will be carried on, which may explain if it does not excuse any slurring of a style, which is at its best but plain English.

There was one memorable night when I walked forth with my head throbbing and my whole frame quivering from the villa of Mr. Southey at Merthyr. Behind me the brazen glare of Dowlais iron-works lit up the sky, and in front twinkled the many lights of the Welsh town. For two hours my wife and I had sat within listening to the whispering voices of the dead, voices which are so full of earnest life, and of desperate endeavours to pierce the barrier of our dull senses. They had quivered and wavered around us, giving us pet names, sweet sacred things, the intimate talk of the olden time. Graceful lights, signs of spirit power had hovered over us in the darkness. It was a different and a wonderful world. Now with those voices still haunting our memories we had slipped out into the material world—a world of glaring iron works and of twinkling cottage windows. As I looked down on it all I grasped my wife's hand in the darkness and I cried aloud, "My God, if they only knew—if they could only know!" Perhaps in that cry, wrung from my very soul, lay the inception of my voyage to the other side of the world. The wish to serve was strong upon us both. God had given us wonderful signs, and they were surely not for ourselves alone.

Genres: Nonfiction, Classics, Travel, Spiritualism

328 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1921

About the author

Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was a Scottish writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for A Study in Scarlet, the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Holmes and Dr. Watson. The Sherlock Holmes stories are milestones in the field of crime fiction.

Doyle was a prolific writer. In addition to the Holmes stories, his works include fantasy and science fiction stories about Professor Challenger, and humorous stories about the Napoleonic soldier Brigadier Gerard, as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels. One of Doyle's early short stories, "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (1884), helped to popularise the mystery of the brigantine Mary Celeste, found drifting at sea with no crew member aboard.

Reviews

[Marianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fun to read this account of Doyle's wanderings throughout all Oceania. He's a great narrator and knows when to stop talking about one topic and change the subject of his writing, though sometimes he seems so thrilled he can't stop pleading his cause. I loved the descriptions of the places he saw and the kind people he met from different cultures and races. It made me want to go and visit New Zealand, one day.
It was great to be in company with Sir Conan Doyle, travelling with him during this warm August at home.

[William · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok 👌listening

Another will written British 🏰 seafaring adventure thriller novella by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle about a trip to Australia. This novella did not work for me give it a try it may work for you. Enjoy the adventure of reading or listening. 2022 👑🏰

[Peter J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I greatly enjoyed the reading of this book. Sir Doyle’s candor and courage on a topic which is inevitably a sensitive one for any religious listener/reader is most refreshing.

[Dave · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is strictly for those with an interest in either the later life of Conan Doyle or the spiritiualist movement in the first part of the twentieth century.

The book descibes the author's lecture tour of Australia and New Zealand in the early 1920s. The content is more concerned with Conan Doyle's experiences on his travels rather than the details of his lectures. In between descriptions of the places he visits and the people he meets, he provides occasional substantiation (in his opinion) for the validity of his spiritualist beliefs.

I found the most interesting parts of the book were those dedicated to the author's thoughts on subjects such as the future re-emergence of Germany as a world power, the consequences of colonialism and the merits of limited alcohol prohibition. At a distance of 90 years, the author's views on these subjects make for interesting reading.