Incidents in My Life

The nineteenth-century spiritualist and medium D. D. Home describes extraordinary paranormal phenomena and everyday realities in this 1863 autobiography.

Daniel Dunglas Home (Author)

9781108025669, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 10 March 2011

310 pages
21.6 x 14 x 1.8 cm, 0.4 kg

D. D. Home (1833–1886), the famous spiritualist and medium, here documents the extraordinary psychic events in his life. Originally published in 1863, this is the first of two autobiographical volumes by Home, the second appearing nine years later. Home describes mysterious phenomena from his very first vision at the age of thirteen to the séances he held for the rich and famous in England, France, Italy and Russia. He astonished his receptive audiences with startling paranormal feats including levitation. His hosts included Napoleon III, Prince Humbert (later Humbert I of Italy), Charles Darwin's cousin Sir Francis Galton, and many other celebrities and aristocrats. Interwoven with these high-profile activities, Home describes his personal life - the early death of his first wife, his subsequent financial difficulties, and his ongoing battle with tuberculosis. Incidents in My Life presents a fascinating insight into the phenomenon of spiritualism during the Victorian period.

Introductory chapter
1. Early life - I become a medium
2. Before the world
3. Further manifestations in America
4. In England
5. At Florence, Naples, Rome and Paris
6. In America. The Pressgang
7. 1857–8 - France, Italy, and Russia. Marriage
8. Russia, Paris and England
9. The 'Cornhill' and other narratives
10. Miraculous preservation. France and England
11. A diary and letter
12. In memoriam
Appendix.

Subject Areas: British & Irish history [HBJD1]