Type(s) de contenu et mode(s) de consultation : Texte noté : sans médiation

Auteur(s) : Hughes, William (1964-....)  Voir les notices liées en tant qu'auteur

Titre(s) : That devil's trick [Texte imprimé] : hypnotism and the Victorian popular imagination / William Hughes

Publication : Manchester : Manchester university press, 2015

Description matérielle : x, 244 pages ; 22 cm

Comprend : Preamble: Animal magnetism ; a farce ? ; The epoch of Mesmer ; Medical magnetism ; Surgical hypnotism ; Conclusion: 'This is that devil's trick ; hypnotism!'

Note(s) : Includes bibliographical references (pages 223-237) and index
That Devil's Trick is the first study of nineteenth-century hypnotism based primarily on the popular - rather than medical - appreciation of the subject. Drawing on the reports of mesmerists, hypnotists, quack doctors and serious physicians printed in popular newspapers from the early years of the nineteenth century to the Victorian fin de siècle, the book provides an insight into how Continental mesmerism was first understood in Britain, how a number of distinctively British varieties of mesmerism developed, and how these were continually debated in medical, moral and legal terms. This is no dry history of medicine, however. It opens and closes with two vignettes of how mesmerists were depicted on stage at the eighteenth- and nineteenth century fins des siècles, and its contents are highly relevant to the study of the many authors - Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Bram Stoker and Conan Doyle among them - whose fiction was informed by the imagery of hypnotism and mesmerism. Its contents are enlivened by liberal quotation from the often scandalous observations of those who watched or participated in mesmeric séances, these being regarded at times as salacious exhibitions likely to undermine the morality of the nation. That Devil's Trick will be an essential resource for anybody working with the popular and literary culture of the nineteenth century. Its unique contents allow it to bridge the disciplinary boundaries of literary criticism and broader Victorian studies, the breath and liveliness of its coverage also making it an important work for medical historians and the general reader. --Provided by publisher

Sujet(s) : Hypnose -- 19e siècle -- Histoire  Voir les notices liées en tant que sujet
Hypnose -- Société -- Grande-Bretagne  Voir les notices liées en tant que sujet
Hypnose -- Dans la littérature  Voir les notices liées en tant que sujet
Mesmérisme -- Dans la littérature  Voir les notices liées en tant que sujet

Identifiants, prix et caractéristiques : ISBN 9780719074837. - ISBN 0719074835 (rel.)

Identifiant de la notice  : ark:/12148/cb450175651

Notice n° :  FRBNF45017565 (notice reprise d'un réservoir extérieur)