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Elvi Whittaker, Solitudes of the Workplace: Women in Universities

broader society and culture. Robertson has written an accessible, interdisciplinary study grounded in historical documentation. The text is incredibly rich, making liberal use of quotes from her source material, which helps keep a strong pacing and regularly makes connections for the reader between the primary material and the theory which Robertson uses to make sense of the subject. While the book draws on an impressive range of theoretical work, from a variety of disciplines, it rarely feels bogged down by its inclusion. It is introduced subtly, and at just the right moments from chapter to chapter. The only spot where I felt the text was too dense was in the introduction. It left me feeling I’d missed a couple of crucial moments, only to find they were filled in as I read on. I would also argue that the book could have used a more sustained and explicit discussion of the connections between science and pseudoscience, given the subject matter. Robertson mentions this relationship on the last page: “Interwar psychical research drew into question the tenuous boundaries between science and pseudoscience, materialism and metaphysics” (173). But I felt this was a gap in the book not sufficiently explored. In the end, Science of the Seance is a great read. It takes its subject matter seriously (which shouldn’t be underestimated), and makes far-reaching conclusions that cross disciplinary boundaries. It draws together a number of seemingly disparate threads into a concise framework that, for me, transformed how I thought about paranormal research. I look forward to more work like this.