The 鈥楶sychical Library鈥 kept by Edgar Lovell-Smith reveals the manifold strands of thought which combined in the Spiritualist experience. Asian religions, Theosophy, 鈥榮cientific鈥 spiritualism and even the odd vegetarian cookbook graced its shelves.
Asian religions represented a distinct category of the Library鈥檚 collection. This is essentially non-Judeo-Christian, comprising a translation of the Qur鈥檃n, writings of Confucius and Laozi, as well as the Hindu聽痴别诲补蝉听and modern Hindu yogis. Such works had been compiled in the previous century by Max M眉ller, who wanted an accurate knowledge of the 鈥楽acred Books of the East鈥 among Western audiences. Hinduism in particular was transmitted to the public within Theosophy. The听搁耻产颈测测补迟迟听of Omar Khayyam, the mystic Muslim poet, also provided fuel for the combination of exotica and fantasy which characterised perceptions of non-Western mysticism.
Helena Blavatsky, the Russia adventuress and founder of the Theosophical Society, together with a latter English disciple, Annie Besant, popularised a hybrid of Hinduism with Western notions of 鈥榮cience鈥 as a solution to the ennui of the modern age. The Library boasts Blavatsky鈥檚聽Isis Unveiled, Key to the Society, The Secret Doctrine, Nightmare Tales,聽补苍诲听Voice of the Silence,聽with Besant鈥檚聽Superman Men, Man and His Bodies, Thought Power, Thought Forms, Birth & Evolution of the Soul, Talks on Occultism聽补苍诲听Evolution of Life and Form.聽In keeping with Blavatsky鈥檚 occasional use of Egyptian mythology, a retelling,聽Ancient Egyptian Legends, could be found nearby.
厂肠丑谤别苍肠办-狈辞迟锄颈苍驳鈥檚听Phenomena of Materialisation聽provided a 鈥榮cientific鈥 grounding, with other titles of either pseudoscience or philosophy to give intellectual bearings to the Spiritualists: Prof. J.B Rhine has two titles,聽Extra Sensory Perception聽补苍诲听New Frontiers of the Mind [Reach of the Mind].聽厂补谤迟谤别鈥檚听The Chips are Down聽补苍诲听The Psychology of Imagination聽suggest that by its final days, the Psychical Research Society was drifting into existentialist territory, with its scepticism toward the supernatural, a possible cause for its dissolution. Lovell-Smith鈥檚 own Christian Spiritualism is hinted at with the title of a novel, Franz Werfel鈥檚聽Song of Bernadette,聽probing the exact nature of Christian mysticism, together with Anglican mystic Evelyn Underhill, whose guide聽The Cloud of Unknowing聽remains an important treatise on mysticism to this day.
Vegetarianism, an important part of the health movement in the 1890s, is also touched on. The idea that meat-eating implied violence was blended with Vedic theories of reincarnation and multiple lives. Hence, the repercussions of Spiritualist thought was that it transcended specific rituals; it morphed into lifestyle. With constant reminders of belief in the fabric of everyday life, it must have helped to generate an identity as strong as Lovell-Smith鈥檚 Methodist forbears.
By going into a library list, we can enter into the textual web of how a Spiritualist would think; even if a book was not necessarily influential (the title聽Is Spiritualism of the Devil?聽must have had few acolytes) they show just what ideas were circulating and what its practitioners were familiar with. This all fed into the potent brew of Spiritualism, and the possibilities of a night under the red lamp.
