Victorian Alchemy: Science, Magic and Ancient Egypt by Eleanor Dobson (review)

Reviewed by: Victorian Alchemy: Science, Magic and Ancient Egypt by Eleanor Dobson Edgar James Ælred Jephcote Victorian Alchemy: Science, Magic and Ancient Egypt Eleanor Dobson; pp. 262. UCL Press, 2022. 94. 17 cloth. Although alchemy and other occult mysteries remain on the fringes of Victorian studies and academia, Eleanor Dobson presents a fairly broad but select range of arcane knowledge of this topic—specifically, that of the ancient Egyptian world. The effect of Egyptology on Victorian culture is a central aspect of Dobson's academic oeuvre. In this latest publication, the author refers to a generous range of literary and cultural phenomena as primary texts, including a number of lesser-known fictional works, which makes her contribution all the more unique. Alchemy, as the main theme of the book, is a broad concept, but it serves to encompass some rather disparate subtopics that are arranged in a slightly contrived but coherent-enough fashion. Essentially, Dobson reveals how the Victorians made profound connections with the ancient Egyptian world through a convergence of scientific and magical practice, thus helping them to comprehend their own technological advancements. Among the modern inventions and breakthroughs described in the book are photography (from which moving pictures developed) and improvements in theatrical presentations, such as lighting, and the discovery of electricity, from which also came early forms of telecommunication. Other important discoveries or developments discussed are professional archaeology and spiritualism. The book starts at the Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly, "where illusory stage magic originated" (23). The building, which, as Dobson states, "was England's first major public building with a neo-Egyptian façade" (23), serves as a concrete example of the fashion for Egyptology in the nineteenth century. More importantly, it was a place of intersection, where converged the worlds of both stage magic and spiritualism. This convergence becomes a crucial topic of debate throughout the author's research. Thus, the Egyptian Hall sets the book's premise, which is to show a link between the scientific improvements of the age and the sudden fascination with magic (for which ancient Egypt had clearly become an immediate signifier). The first chapter discusses optical technologies, such as photography, which were also used for capturing spirit manifestations. Although not mentioned in the book, the College of Psychic Studies, in London's South Kensington, of which Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was president in his final years, holds an unrivalled collection of spirit photography, akin to the image shared by Dobson in this section. Perhaps the connection between new technology and spiritualism is not so surprising after all, given how magical or spellbinding these discoveries must have seemed at the time. Thus, the relevance of the Egyptian Hall is further stressed as it was one of the first venues where such technologies could be viewed or experienced by the general public. End Page 324 Chapter 2 explores the "lost world" genre and the departure from antiquarianism to the more empirical practice of archaeology. Here, the author finds another way to broach "the chasm between antiquity and modernity" (16). Dobson's literary references and sources are extensive. In terms of popular fiction, particular attention is given to H. Rider Haggard's Egyptianthemed texts as well as to E. Nesbit's The Story of the Amulet (1906). The lost world is also explored through the concept of time travel, whether through museum collections and cities with their ancient structures—for example, Cleopatra's Needles—or through fictional devices, such as H. G. Wells's time machine or the portal from Nesbit's aforementioned adventure. Also introduced in this chapter is the Sphinx, an archaeological curiosity for the Victorians that garnered additional speculations about its astronomical or astrological significances. Such ongoing debates concerning the true origins and purposes of the Sphinx, as well as the Pyramids, are among other speculations from the Victorian age—as presented in this book—that seem to have survived into the modern age (via the world of alternative research or pseudo-science). Chapter 3 focuses on the topic of electricity and its uses (including galvanism), as well as X-rays, radioactivity, and illumination. The author provides an engaging commentary on the public performances of Nikola Tesla, including other. . .