Sophia Elizabeth De Morgan

Sophia Elizabeth De Morgan (1809–1892) was the wife of the mathematician and logician Augustus De Morgan and mother of the celebrated ceramicist William De Morgan. In this book, published in 1863, De Morgan, writing as 'CD' – with a preface by her husband signed as 'AB' – acknowledges that alleged spirit manifestations have faced much criticism and scepticism, but argues that it was a little-understood phenomenon that merited further investigation. She spent a decade on this research, and focused on the role of the mediums, people who were believed to communicate with the spirit world. She was aided in this by the arrival of a medium who lived with the De Morgan family for six years. Her chapters also examine in depth the process of dying and ideas about the afterlife. A first-hand account of the nineteenth-century spiritualist world, this book provides a fascinating glimpse into Britain's changing religious landscape.

Sophia Elizabeth De Morgan (1809–1892) was the wife of the mathematician and logician Augustus De Morgan and mother of ceramicist William De Morgan. In Threescore Years and Ten, completed in 1887, edited by her daughter Mary, and published in 1895, De Morgan recounts her formative early years and the influence of her father, the social reformer William Frend. She followed in his footsteps and fought for many causes, including higher education for women and prison reform. She was also an early animal rights activist and campaigned against vivisection. Throughout her life, De Morgan encountered some of the leading writers and thinkers of the time – she was introduced to William Blake when she was a child and many years later found herself the neighbour of Thomas Carlyle. De Morgan's reflections on her life offer an insight into the intellectual world of a Victorian social reformer.

The fame of Augustus De Morgan (1806–1871), a brilliant mathematician and logician, has been eclipsed by that of his son, the celebrated ceramicist William De Morgan. However, as readers of his Memoir will discover, De Morgan senior enjoyed an equally distinguished, if turbulent, career. Collated by his wife, and published in 1882, nine years after his death, the Memoir of Augustus de Morgan chronicles the varied life of an under-appreciated genius. Biographical narrative is interleaved with his own correspondence, revealing a humorous and warm personality as well as an exceptional intellect. As the Pall Mall Gazette told its readers, 'quaint and original to the last, every word of De Morgan's correspondence is well worth reading'. Although rich in detail about his work and publications, Sophia Elizabeth's affectionate account of her husband is also sympathetic and witty, making it an ideal introduction to one of Britain's greatest minds.

First published in 2001. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.