The London Séance Society: A Novel

Spiritualism was a religious movement in North America and Europe that peaked in popularity in the second half of the 19th century. The movement was defined by the idea that an individual’s consciousness continues after death and may be contacted by the living. Emmanuel Swedenborg and Franz Mesmer are often credited as the progenitors of the ideas and approaches that underpin spiritualism. Swedenborg, a Swedish inventor and writer, published descriptions of his waking communication with what he believed to be the spirits of the afterlife. Mesmer popularized a technique dubbed mesmerism, in which a person in a trance state could supposedly communicate with the dead. Mesmerism is only one of the many communication techniques that spiritualist mediums would eventually employ in their craft. Other mediums claimed to communicate with the dead through approaches as varied as interpreting rapping and knocking sounds, reading the flickering of candle flames, and even transcribing messages from spirits directly.

As Sarah Penner discusses in the Author’s Note, most spiritualist mediums were women because of “the belief that a woman’s passivity, femininity, and intuition allowed her to access otherworldly realms more easily than a man, and because a man was considered less likely to submit to a spirit taking control of his psyche” (331). This belief, despite being sexist and gender essentialist, positioned spiritualism as a unique avenue through which women and effeminate men could seek institutional power. Because the movement provided spaces in which women’s voices were valued, and physical spaces in which women could convene, it is not surprising that spiritualism intermingled with many radical political movements of the 19th century, including women’s suffrage. The London Séance Society explores the unique and tenuous position of empowerment that spiritualism offered women in 1870s Europe. Within the context of the novel, Vaudeline is highly respected because of her dedication to her craft. She has access to unique travel opportunities, and this freedom gives her the chance to explore her sexuality in ways that would not have been as readily accessible to most women in the late 19th century. However, Vaudeline’s entrance into the all-male Séance Society situates her as a respected and crucial member of a social organization that ultimately marginalizes her. Both Vaudeline and Lenna spend the novel investigating Volckman’s death from the margins of a world that denies women access to any form of social power. As a result, both women must dress as men in order to avoid public scrutiny, and they must also work to create spaces that exclude men and allow them to share knowledge with other women. The London Séance Society ultimately offers a positive view on the power that the spiritualist movement afforded women, for Lenna and Vaudeline solve two murders by creating a network of women in spite of the efforts of men to thwart them, and they also create a safe space in which to explore a romantic relationship with each other at a time when such liaisons were strictly policed. However, Lenna’s and Vaudeline’s ability to use spiritualism to escape social marginalization only comes about due to their investigation into Evie’s murder. The novel uses this detail as a reminder that while the spiritualist movement did offer women social mobility, they still had to grapple with the mechanics of a deeply sexist and patriarchal society.