The Reluctant Spiritualist,
the life of Maggie Fox
By Nancy Rubin Stuart
Book Review by Marie-Claire Wilson
Nancy Rubin Stuart is an award-winning
author, journalist, and producer specializing in women and social
history. Her previous books include: American Empress: The Life
and Times of Marjorie Merriweather Post and Isabella of Castile:
The First Renaissance Queen. In connection with her work she has
been featured on several national television series and on NPR’s “Morning
Edition”. Her articles have appeared in the New York Times,
the Los Angeles Times, and many national magazines. She also serves
as one of the directors of the Women Writing Women’s Lives
Seminar at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
She lives in New York City with her husband.
The author, Nancy Rubin Stuart, creates a vibrant portrait
of a Victorian-era woman at the heart of the tumults of her time. Precisely,
Stuart delivers the first authoritative biography of the famous
spiritualist Maggie Fox, a 19th century woman who was at least
three centuries ahead of her time. She created a spiritual movement
with her young sister, Katy, by claiming she could communicate
with ghosts by snapping her toe joints.
As children, Maggie and Katy deliberately tried to frighten their
mother by telling her that the farmhouse, were they grew up, in
New York state was haunted.
As we all know, the 19th century was not exactly a time where women
were liberated, just the opposite. Most women who were born
in modest, working-class families such as Maggie’s did not
have a basic education. Women were brought up to be completely
dependent on a their fathers then their husbands. Women of
this time did not have the right to speak out and they certainly
had little choice about who they would marry. They were expected
to produce children, “progeny,” in order to continue
the man’s family line whether they wanted to do so or not. Yet
this woman, Maggie Fox, was one of the first to open the doors
to the New Age.
As a teenager in 1848, Maggie had already had a lot of experiences
with spirits and the world beyond this one, Maggie finally bent
to the authority of her adult sister Leah. Leah, Maggie’s
older sister went public with her younger sister’s secret.
She blackmailed Maggie into giving public séances for financial
gain.
Maggie’s love life resembles a fairy tale or a Hollywood
romance film. In October 1852, at the age of 19, she traveled
with her mother to Philadelphia to offer séances to a small
group of people. This is where she met the brilliant and handsome
naval doctor and Arctic explorer, Elisha Kent Kane. Kane was from
an extremely rich and powerful family and he was convinced with
his scientific mind that Maggie’s claims of spiritualism
were fraudulent. Nevertheless, he was so fascinated by Maggie
that he fell hopelessly and completely in love with her. He
even asked her mother for her hand in marriage the next winter
in 1853, demanding that she stop doing the séances, and
abandon all dealings with the Spiritualism. He
offered to pay to send her to the best schools so that she could
receive an education that would befit her new status as his wife. Kane’s
rich family was in complete disagreement with his relationship
with this girl who was not of their class. He tried to stop
seeing her, but this only worked for a short while. Soon,
he began to see Maggie in secret. He finally married her
in secret as well. He assured Maggie that she would be well
taken care of in the event that anything should happen to him. Four
months later, the Dr. Kane died. In spite of a vigorous defense
in court, Maggie did not get a thing, and she suddenly found herself
in a dire financial situation. So she began giving séances
again.
This biography made a big impression on me and I am full of admiration
for such a unique woman who was so ahead of her times. The
Reluctant Spiritualist documents Maggie’s appearance on the
stage of the New York Academy of Music, in front of 3,000 people.
On October 21, 1888, she made a shocking confession about spiritualism. The
headlines sent shock waves through America. These are her
words: “I have been mainly instrumental in perpetrating the
fraud of Spiritualism upon a too confiding public. It is
the great sorrow of my life.” “Spiritualism
is a fraud from beginning to end... it’s all
a trick... THERE IS NO TRUTH TO IT.”
Were Maggie’s words truth or merely the angry retribution
of a victimized alcoholic? Maggie suffered through the travails
of not having her marriage to Dr. Kane recognized, and then losing
him to death. She witnessed the unhappy life of her younger
sister Katy. She had been exploited by her older sister Leah,
who had become rich had now taken to publicly claiming at every
opportunity that spiritualism was a fraud. In addition, Maggie
suffered all the criticisms launched against spiritualists of her
time, many of whom were frauds and charlatans, fleecing the unsuspecting
gullible public. It must have been a hard life for her. At
the age of 55, Maggie found herself extremely poor, drowning her
sorrows in alcohol, and blaming her older sister.
She finished out her days in poverty, but still, you must think
about her life and what a fabulous woman she was! She opened
a door for those who had narrow minds.
Her biggest failing was to live in the wrong century. What
a sweet revenge it would be for Maggie if she could have lived
through the monumental cultural changes and astounding opening
of minds brought about by the new age movement of our century. To
think that it took all of this time before celebrities like Dr.
Sylvia Brown, James Van Praagh, and John Edwards, to have been
recognized on national TV for their talents as mediums, for their
practice of communicating with spirits from the great beyond. It
is clear that there are still many scientific contradictions because
scientific minds need proof. But there is no proof in the
invisible world, which may forever remain a mystery.
The author, Nancy Rubin Stuart, has given us a real treat with
this book.
Marie-Claire
Wilson, author of the Spiritual Tarot: The Keys to the Divine Temple,
is a bilingual writer and poet. She has been a practicing medium
for 28 years using direct clairvoyance, the Tarot, numerology and
palmistry. For an appointment face-to-face or phone readings call:
404.847.7330
www.Marie-Claire.tv
This biography made a big impression on me and I am full of admiration
for such a unique woman who was so ahead of her times. The
Reluctant Spiritualist documents Maggie’s appearance on the
stage of the New York Academy of Music, in front of 3,000 people.
On October 21, 1888, she made a shocking confession about spiritualism. The
headlines sent shock waves through America. These are her
words: “I have been mainly instrumental in perpetrating the
fraud of Spiritualism upon a too confiding public. It is
the great sorrow of my life.” “Spiritualism
is a fraud from beginning to end... it’s all
a trick... THERE IS NO TRUTH TO IT.” 
Marie-Claire
Wilson, author of the Spiritual Tarot: The Keys to the Divine Temple,
is a bilingual writer and poet. She has been a practicing medium
for 28 years using direct clairvoyance, the Tarot, numerology and
palmistry. For an appointment face-to-face or phone readings call:
404.847.7330 
