The first thing to say about Emily Midorikawa is that she writes with clarity and elegance and handles her material with great insight, so as a reader you're in sound hands.
Her topic here in Out of the Shadows: Six Visionary Victorian Women in Search of a Public Voice is a fascinating one: how the C19th. transatlantic craze for spiritualism gave a disparate group of women a platform from which to speak - and crucially, be heard - on important issues of the era.
Emily's research has ranged from Queen Victoria herself (an incidental presence in the book rather than a focal one) to a female presidential hopeful at a time when women did not have the vote; from small town America to Wall Street, and the heart of London, via a series of extraordinary events such as one might find on the pages of a sensation novel. She shows how an interest in clairvoyance and spiritual healing grew, in the aftermath of the Civil War, for instance, from the need for connection to lost loved ones of a grieving people and in turn gave rise to social reform. Her subjects' stories encompass manipulation and exploitation, attempts to devalue the female intellect, silence women and even question their sanity, but despite the obstacles faced this is ultimately a story of female influence and the advancement of ideas and ideals. It was new ground for me and I found it enthralling so I recommend it highly.
(Just by the way, Emily's book reminded me in some respects of Mrs. Robinson's Disgrace by Kate Summerscale.)
