Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is best known as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, the fictional detective who solved perplexing crimes with strict rationalism. But later in life, Doyle became fascinated by mysteries that defied rational explanation. A major proponent of spiritualism, he conducted numerous paranormal investigations and in 1926 published this definitive history of the movement.

The History of Spiritualism begins with the early roots of spiritualist thought found in the writings of Swedish theologian Emanuel Swedenborg. Doyle then offers in-depth accounts of the movement's major figures in the United Kingdom and America, including Edward Irving, Andrew Jackson Davis, and the Fox Sisters, among many others.