Overview

Spiritualists in the nineteenth century spoke of the ""Borderland,"" a shadowy threshold where the living communed with the dead, and where those in the material realm could receive comfort or advice from another world. The skilled performances of mostly female actors and performers made the ""Borderland"" a theatre, of sorts, in which dramas of revelation and recognition were produced in the forms of seances, trances, and spiritualist lectures. This book examines some of the most fascinating American and British actresses of the Victorian era, whose performances fairly mesmerized their audiences of amused skeptics and ardent believers. It also focuses on the transformative possibilities of the spiritualist theatre, revealing how the performances allowed Victorian women to speak, act, and create outside the boundaries of their restricted social and psychological roles.

Full Product Details

Author:   Amy Lehman
Publisher:   McFarland & Co Inc
Imprint:   McFarland & Co Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.10cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.286kg
ISBN:  

9780786434794

ISBN 10:   0786434791
Pages:   212
Publication Date:   19 October 2009
Recommended Age:   From 18 years
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Awaiting stock  
The supplier is currently out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you and placed on backorder. Once it does come back in stock, we will ship it out for you.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents Acknowledgments      Introduction      1. Victorian Theatre and Theatricality in Victorian Culture      2. The Victorian Woman as Actress and the Roles She Played      3. Mesmer and Charcot: The Trance Performance as Medical Show      4. The Performances of Elizabeth O’Key: The Medical Theatre of Mesmerism      5. “Double Consciousness” in Acting Theory and Trance State      6. “Call Me Gypsy”: Anna Cora Mowatt’s Trance Performances      7. The Rise of Spiritualism and the Fox Sisters      8. Séance as Theatre      9. Spirit Travels to Distant Times and Places      10. Cora L. V. Richmond: Spiritualist Trance Star      11. The Performance of “Ouina” and the Racial “Other”      12. Spiritualism Crosses Over to England: Florence Cook and the Materialization Séance      13. “Katie King” and Robert Dale Owen      14. Materialization, Ectoplasm and Realism      Epilogue      Chapter Notes      Bibliography      Index     

Reviews

Author Information

Amy Lehman has presented research on the theatrical aspects of 19th–century spiritualism at theatre and Victorian studies conferences in the United States and abroad. She is currently on the faculty of the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of South Carolina.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Countries Available

All regions