"Christian Science and the Book of Mrs. Eddy." In THE COSMOPOLITAN.
An Illustrated Monthly Magazine. Irvington-on-the-Hudson NY: J.B.Walker, October 1899. Original tan wrappers printed in red and blue.
First Appearance of Twain's opening salvo in his scathing attack on Mary Baker Eddy and her quickly-growing Christian Science Church. There would be more pieces in subsequent issues of Cosmopolitan, all of which would be collected in Twain's 362-page book in 1907 (beginning with the fictional tale in this issue). In this tale, the narrator falls off a 75-foot cliff in the Austrian Alps, and is carried to an inn where they summon a woman, a doctor from Boston, who happens to be staying nearby. Her initial advice, before seeing him, is to calm down -- she'll stop by the next day, but his body will have probably taken care of itself by then...
The genesis of Twain's attacks on Christian Science was the fact that his eldest daughter Susy had shown an interest in "mind cures" and Christian Science, only to die of meningitis at age 24 in 1896. Ironically, his second daughter Clara, who suffered from significant health and nervous issues, had the opposite response -- becoming a faithful member of the Church and even writing a book about her positive experience.
Also in this issue is "The Lady in the Box" by Frank R. Stockton -- a supernatural tale (illustrated) about a woman in a cataleptic trance in a coffin-like box, "living" for decades without aging. Additionally present is "What Work Is" by Charlotte Perkins Stetson, the social reform advocate and women's rights pioneer.
This issue is in remarkably close-to-fine condition, with only very minor edge-wear. Included near the back are the preliminary leaves for the buyer to bind up the most-recent six issues (Vol. XXVII). Item #15896
Price: $165.00