Description
Book SynopsisAnna Mary Howitt Watts (1824â1884) was a painter and writer, and the daughter of William Howitt (1792â1879), one of the subjects of this double biography. Justinus Kerner (1786â1862) was an inspiration to both Howitt and his daughter. A German poet, trained as a doctor, he became famous both as a patron of the arts and an early pioneer of the spiritualist movement. This account of Kerner's life is full of vivid descriptions of ghostly apparitions and supernatural events. Howitt, a popular writer and radical local politician who was raised a Quaker, became increasingly attracted to spiritualism after the deaths of two of his sons. Watts' book, written after her father's death and first published in 1883, is more than a memoir of a beloved parent. As a record of the beliefs of the spiritualists it provides essential information about early Victorian attitudes to this world and beyond.
Table of ContentsPreface; Life of Dr. Justinus Kerner: 1. Birth and parentage; 2. At college; 3. In the Black Forest and in the Welzheim Forest; 4. At Weinsberg; 5. The last days of Justinus Kerner; 6. Kerner's home; 7. Specimens from the works on psychology of Dr. Kerner; William Howitt and his Work for Spiritualism: 1. His childhood; 2. Early manhood; 3. Noon-day of life; 4. Pioneer in the gold-fields of the visible and invisible worlds; 5. His psychological experiences; 6. Further psychological experiences; 7. His work for spiritualism; 8. Bright sunset of life.
