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High Spirits: A Tale Of Ghostly Rapping And Romance (2000)

by Dianne K. Salerni(Favorite Author)

3.68 of 5 Votes: 2

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English

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review 1: A very interesting fictionalization of a true story, giving a glimpse of what life was probably like for the 3 sisters who were the founders of the spiritualist movement. Ann(?), Maggie, and Katie were young women upset about having a disliked relation not only living with them, but sharing their bed. Out of pique, they decide to tease her a bit and make her believe their home was haunted, and succeeded out of all estimation. This story is fiction, but based very closely on the historical accounts, down to the denouement by Maggie that the hauntings were staged. Taken in by their act were many important people, from Jenny Lind to Houdini, and they made their living bilking the crowds for decades, although eventually they broke apart and raised families. Very well done summ... morearization of a true event, made understandable and believable by the compassionate writing and factual presentation.
review 2: Maggie and Kate Fox were bored with life, so they decided to play a little prank on their niece when she came to visit. In the middle of the night they began to make knocking noises and impersonating spirits in the house. Very quickly their parents, and the people of Hydesville were flocking to bear witness to the spirit of a murdered man. Thus started the phenomenon of Spiritualism. They became quite well known across the Eastern US, and conducted regular spiritual sittings. After many years of this life, Maggie meets a famous explorer, and falls hard. Is she willing to give up her family and her Spiritualism act for a chance at love?I loved In the Shadow of Blackbirds. After writing that review, it was suggested that I read this book. I did not like this one much. To be quite honest, I thought the story was boring. I just didn’t want to read more. What I liked about Blackbirds was not present in this book, a story. I felt like there was nothing behind the surface. It takes place in an interesting historical period, yet I felt like it could have taken place in the present tense. The characters were not particularly likeable, they didn’t really have a ton of personality at all. Most people who reviewed this hated the romance between Maggie and Dr. Kane, however, I welcomed it as something to quell the monotony of the spiritualist “knockings.” It was something that made me anticipate what was coming next. I did appreciate the amount of actual truth in this story. Although Salerni does note that she has changed and created parts of the story, it is interesting to know how Spiritualism all began. I was fairly disappointed overall by this title. less

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