Julie Chajes is a cultural historian who studies the ways in which religion, science, and scholarship intersected in nineteenth-century Britain and America. She is particularly interested in the literature of Spiritualism and occultism, and in what it reveals about the overlaps between heterodox religiosity and mainstream culture. Born in Brazil and raised in the UK, Dr. Chajes's research has addressed topics such as gender, Orientalism, emergent critical categories, and the appropriation of scientific and medical theories in modern forms of religion.

• Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter One: Blavatsky and ReincarnationChapter Two: Isis Unveiled and MetempsychosisChapter Three: Reincarnation in The Secret DoctrineChapter Four: SpiritualismChapter Five: PlatonismChapter Six: ScienceChapter Seven: Hindu and Buddhist ThoughtChapter Eight: Conclusions BibliographyPrimary SourcesSecondary Sources

Helena Blavatsky was instrumental in making the concept of reincarnation widely known to a Western audience, yet presented diverse opinions on this topic in a very voluminous and often less than lucidly written or clearly organized work. Julie Chajes sheds light on Blavatskys doctrines and places them in their historical context. Her book will be of great interest to readers interested in this crucial period of Western religious history.

Julie Chajes is a cultural historian who studies the ways in which religion, science, and scholarship intersected in nineteenth-century Britain and America. She is particularly interested in the literature of Spiritualism and occultism, and in what it reveals about the overlaps between heterodox religiosity and mainstream culture. Born in Brazil and raised in the UK, Dr. Chajes's research has addressed topics such as gender, Orientalism, emergent critical categories, and the appropriation of scientific and medical theories in modern forms of religion.

• Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter One: Blavatsky and ReincarnationChapter Two: Isis Unveiled and MetempsychosisChapter Three: Reincarnation in The Secret DoctrineChapter Four: SpiritualismChapter Five: PlatonismChapter Six: ScienceChapter Seven: Hindu and Buddhist ThoughtChapter Eight: Conclusions BibliographyPrimary SourcesSecondary Sources

Helena Blavatsky was instrumental in making the concept of reincarnation widely known to a Western audience, yet presented diverse opinions on this topic in a very voluminous and often less than lucidly written or clearly organized work. Julie Chajes sheds light on Blavatskys doctrines and places them in their historical context. Her book will be of great interest to readers interested in this crucial period of Western religious history.

Julie Chajes is a cultural historian who studies the ways in which religion, science, and scholarship intersected in nineteenth-century Britain and America. She is particularly interested in the literature of Spiritualism and occultism, and in what it reveals about the overlaps between heterodox religiosity and mainstream culture. Born in Brazil and raised in the UK, Dr. Chajes's research has addressed topics such as gender, Orientalism, emergent critical categories, and the appropriation of scientific and medical theories in modern forms of religion.

• Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter One: Blavatsky and ReincarnationChapter Two: Isis Unveiled and MetempsychosisChapter Three: Reincarnation in The Secret DoctrineChapter Four: SpiritualismChapter Five: PlatonismChapter Six: ScienceChapter Seven: Hindu and Buddhist ThoughtChapter Eight: Conclusions BibliographyPrimary SourcesSecondary Sources

Helena Blavatsky was instrumental in making the concept of reincarnation widely known to a Western audience, yet presented diverse opinions on this topic in a very voluminous and often less than lucidly written or clearly organized work. Julie Chajes sheds light on Blavatskys doctrines and places them in their historical context. Her book will be of great interest to readers interested in this crucial period of Western religious history.