Barbara Weisberg

Interesting situation involving two people both of status in New York City who married but the wife, Mary Strong, has had an affair with her religious widowed brother-in-law, her husband Peter's brother. Divorce was almost unheard of in their circles, but Peter files for divorce; rather than taking it "sitting down" Mary countersues accusing Peter also of having an affair.

Mary was pregnant at the time and it is unknown whether the child is Peter's or his brothers. An abortion takes places supposedly demanded and planned by Peter.

Much of the book takes place at the trial with very long-winded and self-important lawyers for both sides. There was no real "character" connection so it is more of a legal discussion than a personal one.… (más)

Strong Passions: A Scandalous Divorce in Old New York
recounts the tumultuous marriage of Peter and Mary Strong and the legal and personal aspects of pursuing divorce in upper crust New York, 1862.

If you check the acknowledgments, notes and bibliography, you will
realize it is far more than a cursory biographical sketch of divorce in "old New York".

It is quite intense reading and would definitely appeal to those interested in New York history.

"Weisberg uses a scandalous divorce to illuminate tensions surrounding marriage, gender, and sexuality in Edith Wharton's upper-class New York City." (Clifton Hood)

I would not suggest this biography to those looking for a light read.
It can definitely be appreciated by someone looking for in-depth period material.… (más)

For some reason Talking to the Dead became a slog for me even though I also enjoyed learning more about the rise of Spiritualism generally and the Fox Sisters specifically. I wanted to know more about the history of the movement after my partner and I visited Lily Dale this summer. Although nothing there convinced me that the mediums there hwere channeling the dead, it is a lovely village in which to spend a weekend and they tave the largest collection of Susan B. Anthony objects in the world. She spoke there a bunch of times and visited even more. They hosted Women's Suffrage summits for many years and long before women were able to vote. The Lily Dale museum has a good deal of ephemera from those events - buttons, photographs, letters, yearbooks. The connection between the early women's movement and Spiritualism fascinated me. While this book didn't discuss that in too much detail, it described the circumstances of Spiritualism's early days in ways that helped me see how the two things were linked. It also fascinates me how that little part of New York became a hotbed of new religious movements - Spiritualism, Mormonism, the Oenida movement and others I'm forgetting all had their genesis there in a relatively short time period. She discusses that briefly in the beginning of the book, but I'm likely to go looking for something that provides more details about that phenomenon.

The history of the sisters themselves along with all of the 'tests' of their mediumship were detailed and thorough. I can't really say where it stopped holding my interest. Perhaps the people themselves just weren't that interesting. I did like hearing of all of the famous and important people of the era believed in Spiritualism and the ability to contact the dead. I was already familiar with the possibility of the great uprising of belief in the ability to contact the dead was a result of the grief connected to so many people dying. There was a cholera outbreak when the Fox sisters started hearing knocks and, of course, the Civil War and its atrocities began not that long into the increased openness to Spiritualism Weisberg also explores the possibility that their willingness to believe, or at least reserve judgement, was tied to the technological developments at that time - telegraph, electricity - was interesting and thought provoking.

Honestly, if you are interested in the rise of Spiritualism in general and the Fox sisters specifically, this is a fine book to get a thorough look at that history without an underlying agenda of belief or disbelief. My recommendation is that, if you can, you should visit Lily Dale instead.… (más)