The Thought Reader Craze: Victorian Science at the Enchanted Boundary

by Wiley Barry H.

Beginning in 1870, the hunger for scientific discovery in Great Britain drove prominent scientists, philosophers and others to promote the legitimacy of telepathy. At the same time, mind-reading as a form of entertainment gained increasing popularity as persuasive performers like John Randall Brown, W.I. Bishop, and Stuart C. Cumberland convinced reporters that they truly could read the thoughts of others. The widely publicized, sometimes bizarre, interactions between scientists and these charlatans ushered in the Thought Reader Craze, a period that lasted through about 1910 and saw entertainers make and lose fortunes and scientists make and lose reputations. This volume explores this unusual cultural phenomenon, showing how it was aided through the years by public scientific pronouncements, astonishing performances by the thought readers, and the rapidly changing industrial society.

239 pages, Paperback

First published July 30, 2012

Reviews

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The late 1800s saw a sudden interest in thought reading—men and women who claimed to have telepathic powers, as well as those who openly faked it (whether to expose the charlatans or as entertainment). This is interesting, but too focused for me on the thought readers themselves, rather than the wider reaction and interest in society, which I was hoping for. If you have more interest in the history of magic, you might give this a higher score.