When Anton Mesmer began to cure patients with "animal magnetism" more than two-hundred years ago he initiated a controversy in the medical profession that continues to this day. Mesmer's theory of a universal fluid in the human body that could be regulated by magnetic influence was refined and developed by his disciples-largely in France, Britain, and the United States-until it became what is known today as hypnotism. Derek Forrest explores Mesmer's extraordinary life and the work of subsequent pioneers and introduces a range of amazing characters, including Charcot, Freud's mentor, and the famously eccentric Dr. Elliotson, whose continued advocacy of mesmerism cost him his position as Physician to University College Hospital in 1838. Making use of many primary sources, Forrest presents a fascinating study of this intriguing therapy.