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pluralstories2023-11-28 12:04 pm
lb_lee) wrote in pluralstories2023-11-28 12:04 pm
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Heaven's Bride, by Leigh Eric Schmidt (historical biography prose, 2010)
(Full title: Heaven's Bride: The Unprintable Life of Ida C. Craddock, American Mystic, Scholar, Sexologist, Martyr and Madwoman)
"Like her sister Nana, Ida too would have a spirit husband, but unlike Nana's posthumous nuptials, Ida would join her partner on this side of the grave."
Blurb: A biography of Ida C. Craddock, a sex educator who married a spirit in the 1890s and who was hounded to death by Anthony Comstock for it.
Why is it worth your time?: It's well-researched, and one of the only biographies of Craddock. Schmidt doesn't seem to know what to do with her spirit marriage, shoving it into two chapters ("Pastor of the Church of Yoga" and "One Religio-Sexual Maniac") and treating it with bemused incomprehension, but he does an excellent job explaining the cultural context around Craddock's work and harassment. The excerpts of her diary that he quotes regarding her relationship with her spirit husband Soph remain touching and relevant a century later. Recommended, despite its limitations!
Plural Tags: abuse low-focus, otherworld, the dead, family, and romantic relationships, spiritual, voices
Content Warnings: Kidnapping, institutionalization, imprisonment, era-expected ableism, misogyny, racism, and classism, plus religious oppression, parental violence, suicide. Despite this, the book isn't that rough a read; most of that happens in the chapter clearly labeled "Every Inch a Martyr."
Access Notes: Available in paper, audio, and ebook forms. Very easy to get ahold of.
Misc Notes: If you want to read Ida C. Craddock's writings, including Heavenly Bridegrooms and Psychic Wedlock, check out https://www.idacraddock.com/ There's also Sexual Outlaw, Erotic Mystic: the Essential Ida Craddock, but we haven't read it and can't say anything about it.
"Like her sister Nana, Ida too would have a spirit husband, but unlike Nana's posthumous nuptials, Ida would join her partner on this side of the grave."
Blurb: A biography of Ida C. Craddock, a sex educator who married a spirit in the 1890s and who was hounded to death by Anthony Comstock for it.
Why is it worth your time?: It's well-researched, and one of the only biographies of Craddock. Schmidt doesn't seem to know what to do with her spirit marriage, shoving it into two chapters ("Pastor of the Church of Yoga" and "One Religio-Sexual Maniac") and treating it with bemused incomprehension, but he does an excellent job explaining the cultural context around Craddock's work and harassment. The excerpts of her diary that he quotes regarding her relationship with her spirit husband Soph remain touching and relevant a century later. Recommended, despite its limitations!
Plural Tags: abuse low-focus, otherworld, the dead, family, and romantic relationships, spiritual, voices
Content Warnings: Kidnapping, institutionalization, imprisonment, era-expected ableism, misogyny, racism, and classism, plus religious oppression, parental violence, suicide. Despite this, the book isn't that rough a read; most of that happens in the chapter clearly labeled "Every Inch a Martyr."
Access Notes: Available in paper, audio, and ebook forms. Very easy to get ahold of.
Misc Notes: If you want to read Ida C. Craddock's writings, including Heavenly Bridegrooms and Psychic Wedlock, check out https://www.idacraddock.com/ There's also Sexual Outlaw, Erotic Mystic: the Essential Ida Craddock, but we haven't read it and can't say anything about it.