Things have been a little quiet on the website of late, but Life Is Amazing has been pushing on with producing more of the niche books associated with Southern England, and making new friends.
Recently we had several great reviews for Conan Doyle and the Mysterious World of Light.
Dr Tom Ruffles, writing for The Society for Psychic Research described the book as “an attractive package,” noting that:
[the book’s] real service is not just in reprinting articles and letters, valuable though that is, but locating them within the debates between those who saw Spiritualism as a new religion, those who saw it as a return to a more authentic Christianity, those who saw it as an enemy of Christianity, and those critics who saw it as an enemy of reason. There was an intense intellectual ferment, and by including material by other writers Wingett shows how Spiritualism tapped into a wider discussion about the place of religion in a world which could contain so much suffering and loss. The various threads are tied together by his impartial commentary.
You can read the review here.
One of the great journals of paranormal investigation is The Fortean Times, and Alan Murdie (Chair of The Ghost Club, 0f which Conan Doyle was also a member), wrote:
Wingett does a valuable service for scholars and historians by reproducing every article and letter that Doyle wrote for the publication between 1887 and 1920. But he also goes further in examining the impact that Doyle made and the controversies which erupted as he set forth to convince the world of the spiritualist case for survival after death.
This is a great review, though you’ll have to buy The Fortean Times number 343 to read it all, since it is not available online.
Also very positive was Roy Stemman’s review in Psychic News:
Not only does Wingett’s book give us an insight into Doyle’s thinking on a subject that he would ultimately regard as of the utmost importance to the world, but it also lifts the curtain on Spiritualism and is leading exponents in the early part of the last century.
Really positive reviews.
You can buy the book here:
Conan Doyle and the Mysterious World of Light – Paperback Edition
Conan Doyle and the Mysterious World of Light – Hardback Edition