Wera Kryzhanovskaia

Vera Ivanovna Kryzhanovskaia (married name Semenöva; June 14, 1857 – December 29, 1924) was a Russian novelist and self-proclaimed psychography practitioner. Between 1885 and 1917 she wrote nearly one hundred novels and short stories signed by the spirit of English poet John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, by whom she claimed her novels were dictated to her. She wrote in French and then translated her works into Russian.

Biography Vera Ivanovna Kryzhanovskaia descended from a noble family from the province of Tambov. She was born on June 14, 1857 in Warsaw, Poland, where her father, Major General Ivan Antonovich Kryzhanovsky, commanded an artillery brigade. Her mother came from a family of pharmacists. From an early age, Vera received a fine education and had an interest in ancient history and occultism.

Her father died when Vera was ten years old, leaving the family in a difficult financial situation. In 1872, Vera enrolled on a scholarship to St. Catherine School, a charitable educational association for noble young women in Saint Petersburg. However, her fragile health and financial difficulties prevented her from completing the course. In 1877, she was dismissed and completed her education at home.

At the age of 18, she began her work in psychography. In 1880, gathered at her spiritualist sessions during a trip to France, she participated in a mediumship session for the first time. At the time, her contemporaries were surprised by her productivity, despite her frail health. Famous European mediums of the time, as well as the future Nicholas II of Russia,

In 1886, while in Paris, her first work was published. The historical novel, Episode from the Life of Tiberius, was psychographed in French (as were her first works), in which a tendency towards mystical themes could already be noted. It is believed that she was influenced by the spiritist doctrine of Allan Kardec, the theosophy of Helena Blavatsky, and the occultism of Papus.

Her husband, Sergei Valerianovich Semenov, held a position in the imperial chancellery and in 1904, was appointed "kamerguer", a sort of secretary to Tsar Nicholas II. Semenov was a famous spiritualist and presided over the "Circle for Psychical Research" in Saint Petersburg. Hellish Charms (Saint Petersburg, 1910) In Another World (Saint Petersburg, 1911) The Sorcerer's Daughter (Saint Petersburg, 1913) In the Kingdom of Darkness (Saint Petersburg, 1914) The Loop of Death (1906) Evil Spirit (1932) From Darkness to Light (1904) Airplane (1933) Pentology Elixir of Life (Saint Petersburg, 1901) Magi (Saint Petersburg, 1902) The Wrath of God (Saint Petersburg, 1910) Death of the Planet (Saint Petersburg, 1911) Legislators (1916)

English translations The Torch-Bearers of Bohemia. Tr. Juliet Soskice. London: Chatto-Windus, 1916; NY: McBride, 1917.