Spiritualism and the nineteenth-century revival
Allan Kardec
Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail
An educator who systematised supposed spirit communications into Spiritism, especially influential in France and Brazil.
- Dates
- 3 October 1804 – 31 March 1869
- Dating
- documented dates
- Born
- Lyon
- Died
- Paris
The life
Originally a teacher, he became fascinated by séances and table-turning, and wrote under a pseudonym. He died suddenly in Paris.
Place in the tradition
Spiritism became one of the largest descendants of nineteenth-century séance culture, and remains so.
the written record
Principal works
-
1857
The Spirits' Book
A structured series of questions and answers on God, spirits, reincarnation, morality and the afterlife.
-
1861
The Mediums' Book
A practical and theoretical manual on mediumship, manifestations and methods of testing communications.
-
1864
The Gospel According to Spiritism
Interprets Christian teaching through reincarnation and Spiritist ethics.
-
1865
Heaven and Hell
Rejects eternal damnation in favour of progressive spiritual development.
-
1868
The Genesis
Attempts to reconcile cosmology, miracles and spiritual law with contemporary science.