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Rosenstock, Barb

American Spirits: The Famous Fox Sisters and the Mysterious Fad that Haunted a Nation

304 pp. | Calkins/Astra | April, 2025 | Trade ISBN 9781635928051 $24.99 | Ebook ISBN 9781635928068 $14.99
(2) YA The year is 1848. The Fox family -- father; mother; and two daughters, Maggie, fourteen, and Kate, eleven -- have moved to upstate New York. A strange rapping sound disturbs them every night. When they ask a neighbor to help investigate, the woman not only hears the sounds but also observes the girls seemingly communicating with whoever is making them. More neighbors come to listen, finally concluding that the girls are communicating with a peddler who had been killed on the premises, proving they can talk to the dead. Word spreads: believers flock to the Fox house; the Modern Spiritualist movement is born. The girls become celebrities, and the once-destitute family thrives. Are they honest or fraudulent? Prophets or witches? ­Rosenstock evenhandedly explores the flawed methods used to ascertain the truth as well as offering pertinent discussions of confirmation bias, media influence, and the limited options available to mid-nineteenth-century women. Readers see two unsophisticated teens coping with fame and exploitation while struggling with growing up. Archival photographs and art of the period complement the engaging text. Meticulously researched, the book concludes with a portion of a newspaper article in which Maggie tells her story (i.e., confesses it was all a sham); an author’s note (which still leaves some room for doubt); thorough documentation; an extensive bibliography; and an index.
Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2025

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