Mary Anne Atwood (née South) (1817 – 1910) was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
writer on
hermeticism
Hermeticism, or Hermetism, is a philosophical system that is primarily based on the purported teachings of Hermes Trismegistus (a legendary Hellenistic combination of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth). These teachings are containe ...
and spiritual
alchemy
Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...
.
Life
Atwood was born in
Dieppe
Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France.
Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newha ...
, France but grew up in
Gosport
Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite t ...
,
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
. Her father, Thomas South, was a researcher into the history of spirituality, and she assisted and collaborated with her father from her youth. Mary Anne married the Anglican Reverend Alban Thomas Atwood in 1859, and moved to his parish near
Thirsk
Thirsk is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England known for its racecourse; quirky yarnbomber displays, and depiction as local author James Herriot's fictional Darrowby.
History
Archeological fin ...
in
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
where she spent the rest of her life. She continued private correspondence with several influential
Theosophists
Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion a ...
until her death in 1910.
Her final words were "I cannot find my centre of gravity."
She is buried at
Leake Church in
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
.
Works
Atwood's first publication, ''Early Magnetism in its higher relations to humanity'' (1846), was issued pseudonymously as the work of Θυος Μαθος (Gk. ), an anagram of Thomas South.
''A Suggestive Inquiry into the Hermetic Mystery'' (1850) was written by Atwood at her father's request, and in parallel with his own composition of a lengthy poem on the same subject. Thomas South paid for the book to be published anonymously in 1850, but without having read it, trusting his daughter's judgement. Reading it after publication, he believed Mary Anne had revealed many hermetic secrets that were better left unpublished, and therefore bought up the remaining stock and, with his daughter, burnt them, along with the unfinished manuscript of his poem. Only a few copies of the book survived.
Atwood published nothing after ''A Suggestive Inquiry''.
Walter Leslie Wilmshurst, in his 1918 introduction to the reissue, laments that the thoughts of her later years did not find fruition in another work. He claims, however, that there is much to be found in her papers, of which he was then in possession. These have not yet been published. The special collections archive of the Brown University library currently holds around 700 of Ms. Atwood's letters.
Influence
''A Suggestive Inquiry'' was reissued in 1918 under Mary Anne's married name, with an appendix containing her
table talk and memorabilia, and with an extensive biographical and philosophical introduction by
Walter Leslie Wilmshurst. Principe and Newman (2001) considered ''A Suggestive Inquiry'' to be one of three books which started the influence of the spiritual interpretation of alchemy in early modern
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
.
In popular culture
The writer
Lindsay Clarke
Lindsay Clarke (born 1939, Halifax, West Yorkshire) is a British novelist. He was educated at Heath Grammar School in Halifax and at King's College, Cambridge. The landscape of hills, moors and crags around Halifax informed the growth of his ima ...
used the story of Thomas South and Mary Anne Atwood as a basis for his novel ''
The Chymical Wedding
''The Chymical Wedding'' is a 1989 novel by Lindsay Clarke about the intertwined lives of six people in two different eras.
Inspired by the life of Mary Anne Atwood, the book includes themes of alchemy, the occult, fate, passion, and obsession ...
'' (1989).
The book ''A Suggestive Inquiry...'' was being read by
Pink
Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...
in the music video for the single ''
U + Ur Hand
U or u, is the twenty-first and sixth-to-last letter and fifth vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''u'' (pro ...
''.
MTV news: ''What's Up With The Black Magic And Biker Outfits In Pink's New Video?''
/ref>
See also
*Isabelle de Steiger
Isabelle de Steiger, née Lace (28 February 1836 – 1 January 1927), was an English painter, theosophist, occultist and writer. She became a member of several esoteric societies in London, and was a close friend and co-worker of Anna Kingsford ...
References
Further reading
*
External links
*Rexresearch.com:
Hermetic Philosophy & Alchemy: A Suggestive Inquiry into the Hermetic Mystery
'' HTML online text
Mary Anne Atwood Papers1882-1910
John Hay Library Special Collections, Brown University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atwood, Mary Anne
1817 births
1910 deaths
19th-century alchemists
20th-century alchemists
English women writers
Hermeticists
Pseudonymous women writers
19th-century English women
19th-century English people
20th-century English women
20th-century English people
19th-century pseudonymous writers
20th-century pseudonymous writers