About the author
Courtenay Raia is the author of The New Prometheans: Faith, Science, and the Supernatural Mind in the Victorian Fin de Siècle (University of Chicago Press, 2019). The book examines the Society for Psychical Research, founded in 1882 to investigate consciousness scientifically, and situates it within a broader Victorian search for self-understanding through mesmerism, spiritualism, and related movements. Raia traces how figures moving between laboratories and séance rooms tried to reconcile emerging scientific method with older romantic and religious impulses, treating the occult revival as a serious episode in the history of science rather than a curiosity on its margins. The book is aimed at readers interested in the history of psychology, religion, and the paranormal as intellectual history, written for an academic and general nonfiction audience rather than for practitioners. It offers grounding in primary sources and period debate rather than instruction or belief.
📖 Where to start with Courtenay Raia
💬 What our editors say about Courtenay Raia's books
“Raia’s study is a compelling deep dive into the Victorian obsession with validating the non-physical. It successfully illuminates the interdisciplinary nature of psychical research and its impact on societal understanding of the…”
Esoterica Books editorial team, Occult literature desk · on The New Prometheans: Faith, Science, and the Supernatural Mind in the Victorian Fin de Siècle
“Courtenay Raia offers a compelling examination of the New Prometheans, detailing their serious attempt to bridge science and the supernatural in the late Victorian era. The text effectively portrays psychical research as a vital…”
Esoterica Books editorial team, Occult literature desk · on The New Prometheans: Faith, Science, and the Supernatural Mind in the Victorian Fin de Siècle
