When World War I and the 1918 Influenza epidemic caused the deaths of thousands of young adults, Spiritualism enjoyed a resurgence worldwide, as grieving family members sought to make contact with their lost loved ones. One of the Fox Sisters, the most famous mediums of the 19 th Century, even wrote a tell-all book, revealing all the secrets, but so few people believed her that she was able to recant and start holding seances again! I learned that creative mediums jazzed up their performance with tricks like table tipping, spirit rapping, backwards writing, and the appearance of “ectoplasm.” Even though these tricks were exposed and debunked time and time again (spirit rapping, for instance, was just toe knuckles tapping the table leg), true believers remained unmoved. This became the premise for my new Counterfeit Lady book, City of Shadows.

Spiritualism is the belief that the spirits of the dead can communicate with the living, and holding a séance with a medium to facilitate the process became all the rage. Now I’ll never know.īut what if we could contact our loved ones after they are gone? In the late 19 th and early 20 th Centuries, when life was far more uncertain and families were as likely to lose a child as a grandparent, Spiritualism enjoyed periods of immense popularity. Have you ever wanted to have one last conversation with a loved one who has passed away? I know I often think of things I wish I had asked my parents, questions no one else could answer.

City of Shadows by Victoria Thompson