spiritualism

“Great Gold Bird” can be heavy, tugging at our hearts even as it becomes more mystical — its themes ricocheting among grief, science fiction and spiritualism.

Chapnick discovered Alcott’s other stories as part of his research into spiritualism and mesmerism.

They include a classic Mexican novel and a history of gay bars, a celebration of the artist Leo Lionni and a study of female artists who embraced spiritualism, a thriller set in Scotland and a novel set in outer space and a consideration of free speech in the age of misinformation: good books with nothing in common except that they come from small presses.

This book by an Australian art critic turns a penetrating gaze on female artists who, in the 19th century and into the 20th, embraced spiritualism for sometimes uncertain reasons.

Their mission: Finding myriad ways to convey how faith and spiritualism, in their many forms, manifested themselves around the world in 2023.