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Unholy sensations : a story of sex, scandal, and California's first cult scare / Joshua Paddison.
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Paddison, Joshua, 1974- author.
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Brotherhood of the New Life.
- Harris, Thomas Lake, 1823-1906.
- Harris, Thomas Lake.
- Genre:
- Informational works.
- Illustrated works.
- Physical Description:
- xvi, 263 pages : illustrations (black and white) ; 25 cm
- Place of Publication:
- New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2025]
- Summary:
- "Unholy Sensations tells the forgotten but fascinating story of a sex scandal that erupted in the 1890s around a multi-racial spiritualist colony called Fountaingrove in northern California. Out of the scandal came a new kind of public menace--what newspapers called the "cult." The Fountaingrove sex scandal helped establish for the first time popular ideas of "cults": groups or movements that violated religious, familial, and sexual norms to such an extent that they seemed dangerous to the dominant moral order. Thomas Lake Harris, the leader of Fountaingrove, became the archetype of the villainous "cult leader," supposedly brainwashing and manipulating his followers through his powerful charisma. The Fountaingrove scandal also established California as a breeding ground for cults, a reputation that remains strong today"-- Provided by publisher.
- Contents:
- September 1890: The Pivotal Man
- April 1891: The Spiritual Reformer
- May 1891: The Wandering Apostate
- June 1891: A Samurai in Fairyland
- Autumn 1891: Enter Mr. X
- December 1891: Worse than Mormons
- January 1892: Disorderly Doctrines
- February 1892: Spirit Versus Flesh
- Spring 1892: No More a Celibate
- January 1896: The Victim of an Ungodly System
- The Original Cult Leader
- The Angel of the Jails
- The Baron of Fountaingrove
- Epilogue: The Land Has Been Waiting.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references (pages [219]-252) and index.
- Other Format:
- Online version: Paddison, Joshua, 1974- Unholy sensations
- ISBN:
- 9780197775325
- 0197775322
- OCLC:
- 1479519875
- Publisher Number:
- CIPO000226327
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