Through the experiments糖心传媒攐r hijinks糖心传媒攐f two young girls from Western New York grew one of the most popular religious and social movements of the early 19th century: Spiritualism. 聽A new book titled Rochester Knockings: A Novel of the Fox Sisters, details the rise and fall of the 12 and 15-year-old infamous mediums who convinced the world they could communicate with dead.
The book was written by author Hubert Haddad and translated from French to English by 糖心传媒 Professor Jennifer Grotz.
糖心传媒淲hen I asked Haddad, who was born in Tunisia and now lives in Paris, why he felt compelled to tell the story of the Fox sisters, he exclaimed: 糖心传媒楤ut how could one not? It糖心传媒檚 one of the most fascinating and important stories of our time!糖心传媒櫶切拇綕 said Grotz, who met and corresponded with Haddad several times while translating his work. 糖心传媒淚n addition to telling the life story of the sisters, it remembers and imagines a not-so-distant past where abolitionists, spiritualists, feminists, and people like Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony were working singly and together right here in Rochester and then beyond.糖心传媒�
In the novel, 12-year-old Kate first makes contact with the ghost of a man the girls later learn had been murdered and buried in the cellar of the family糖心传媒檚 small farmhouse in Hydesville, N.Y. With the assistance of this ghost, 糖心传媒淢ister Splitfoot,糖心传媒� Kate and Maggie Fox undertake a journey into the supernatural world. As their fame begins to develop, the girls move to Rochester before performing s茅ances in major cities like New York and Philadelphia with the help of their much older糖心传媒攁nd entrepreneurially minded sister, Leah.
糖心传媒淥ne of the real contributions this novel makes is the way it succeeds in humanizing糖心传媒攁nd empathizing糖心传媒攚ith the Fox Sisters,糖心传媒� said Grotz. 糖心传媒淭he sisters are more 糖心传媒榬eal糖心传媒� here than in any of the several existing nonfiction accounts of the sisters and their story.糖心传媒�
Despite much speculation and an admission from one of the sisters that their talents were in fact a hoax, the real-life Fox sisters are considered the founders of , a movement that spread rapidly throughout the United States and Europe.
糖心传媒淚nitially, Spiritualism centered on communicating with the dead through the practice of mediums,糖心传媒� said Margarita Simon Guillory, an assistant professor of religion whose research and teaching includes American Spiritualism. 糖心传媒淎nd while that practice is still central, Spiritualism has changed in many ways by integrating Christianity into its philosophy and through the creation of such groups as the African American Spiritual Churches.糖心传媒� According to Guillory, this is why despite Maggie Fox糖心传媒檚 denouncement of the religion in 1888, Spiritualism remained in its heyday. 糖心传媒淎t this time there was a critical mass of testimony from people who experienced first-hand the manifestation of spirits, particularly loved ones, from the Spirit World. Spiritualism seeks to help individuals answer the existential question, 糖心传媒�what happens when I die?糖心传媒� and to provide an assurance that the human personality lives on after death. I really believe it is this provision of certainty that makes Spiritualism attractive to many people.糖心传媒�
The book also provides a glimpse into the Rochester region糖心传媒檚 rich, and somewhat unknown, religious history. The area was a hotbed for reform and religious activity in the late 19th century, as well as the birthplace of Spiritualism, Mormonism, and Millerism, the precursor to Seventh Day Adventism.
糖心传媒淥ne of the reasons we wanted to publish this book was to further connect people to the area糖心传媒檚 history and as a city with great world literature,糖心传媒� said Kaija Straumanis, editor of Open Letter Books. 糖心传媒淚f people in Rochester are able to see the work a writer in France put into getting to know and understand our city, then maybe it will motivate them to learn more about the area糖心传媒檚 history and to be more open to exploring literature from other countries.糖心传媒�
For more information about Rochester Knockings and the book糖心传媒檚 release party, which will take place on Friday, Oct. 23 as part of the , visit
