Spellbound. Studies on Mesmerism and Literature.

Princeton; Princeton University Press, 1985. 22,5x14,5 cm. xvi, 293, (1, 2 blanks) pp. + 4 leaves of plates. Publisher's boards with printed dustjacket. The jacket has a small loss at top rear corner. Top corners are slightly bumped. Date of purchase in ink on front free endpaper. "Franz Anton Mesmer’s concept of animal magnetism exercised a profound influence on key European and American thinkers. Mesmer, who saw in his discovery the secret of health, had hoped to recover the harmony between man and nature by harnessing the power of magnetic fluids. In calling attention to the existence of a second self that surfaces in the hypnotic trance, Mesmer made his real contribution and took the first, decisive steps on the road leading to the unconscious. While most critical studies of mesmerism originate in the history of science or medicine, Maria Tatar’s book takes a fresh approach by tracing the impact of mesmerism on literature." (Front flap).