There is no Birth by Florence Singleyet
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| Thanks to The Guardian |
Author: Florence Singleyet
Publisher: Not known
Source book: The Diary of A Nobody by George and Weedon Grossmith
The Diary of A Nobody (1892) is generally recognised as a classic work of humour, and it has never been out of print. I have read it several times (just to be sure) and I really don’t enjoy its style of comedy.
The Diary features a classic seance scene poking fun at the journalist and enthusiastic spiritualist Florence Marryat, who George Grossmith knew. Her experiences at seances, and her stories of contacting her dead daughters and drowned brother were chronicled in There is No Death and the sequel The Spirit World. So she features as Florence Singleyet, author of There is No Birth.
Presumably Florence Marryat would have been very well-known when The Diary was first published. You can read a little more about her here.
It’s amazing how spiritualists or mediums continue to feature in modern culture. There’s one in an episode of Midsomer Murders, another in Morse, and I am sure there must be others. Of course there’s also the real life Long Island Medium who has her own TV show. I don’t think I will ever bother to visit a medium. There’s a family member I don’t want to bother me. Actually I wonder how often people wanting to speak to Cousin Iris get lumbered with a visit from dreadful old Uncle Ernest instead?
Spiritualism seems to have been invented by the Fox sisters from Ontario, who moved to New York in the 1840s and convinced their family that they could communicate with spirits. Despite the fact that they later admitted it was all a hoax, the cult of spiritualism became firmly established. And still hasn’t gone away. All you need is a couple of teenage girls….
[I really do wonder about parents who name one son George, and the other one Weedon.]
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| Victorian Ghost Photography: found on Pinterest |
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