I have a deep appreciation for literary scholars who aim to draw once-popular but now obscure authors out of the shadows and back into the light for a new generation of readers to discover! Donald K. Hartman does just this with The Hypnotic Tales of Rafael Sabatini, which came out last year. This is the third installment in Hartman’s series of books that highlight the role of hypnotism in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century horror, mystery, and weird fiction. I have previously reviewed Death by Suggestion and The Hypno-Ripper, and I can now say I fully share Hartman’s fascination (if you’ll excuse the pun) with this intriguing microgenre. In this latest book, Hartman collects two short novelettes by the author Rafael Sabatini along with some notes about the cultural context in which they were written. Continue reading The Hypnotic Tales of Rafael Sabatini Review
Tag: hypnotism
Review of The Hypno-Ripper—Victorian Crime Fiction
What if the world’s most notorious serial killer never meant to hurt anyone at all? Jack the Ripper is probably the serial killer to most often appear in fiction, as the unsolved mystery has led writers to conjecture about his motives and identity for well over a century. Interestingly, some of the earliest of these conjectural works present the Ripper himself as a victim rather than a ruthless killer. The Hypno-Ripper, edited by Donald K. Hartman, collects fictional accounts contemporaneous to the killings that posit the murders were committed (at least in part) by someone under a hypnotic trance. The Hypno-Ripper is part of Hartman’s series on the portrayal of hypnotism in Victorian and Edwardian literature, serving as a sort of sequel to his earlier collection, Death by Suggestion, which I reviewed back in 2019. The Hypno-Ripper came out in May of this year and is perfect for those fascinated either by the Whitechapel murders or by the turn-of-the-century phenomenon of hypnotic suggestion. Continue reading Review of The Hypno-Ripper—Victorian Crime Fiction
Review of Death by Suggestion–A Hypnotic Anthology
You are getting very, very sleepy … and also a bit murderous. Mesmerism, also called animal magnetism and later hypnosis, spread in popularity throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries as doctors, hobbyists, and stage performers demonstrated their ability to control the actions of others through mere suggestion. The Victorians and Edwardians were fascinated by this new discipline, but also, understandably, quite anxious. Without knowing what the limitations were of this power, they imagined scenarios in which one could be mesmerized to commit crimes, betray loved ones, and even kill. Death by Suggestion: An Anthology of 19th and Early 20th-Century Tales of Hypnotically Induced Murder, Suicide, and Accidental Death edited by Donald K. Hartman brings together twenty-two tales by authors both well-known and obscure that explore the darker side of suggestion. Continue reading Review of Death by Suggestion–A Hypnotic Anthology