Abstract
Abstract: In Science and Health (1875), Christian Science founder Mary Baker Eddy (1821–1910) discouraged followers from reading “nauseous fiction,” that is, “[n]ovels, remarkable only for their exaggerated pictures, impossible ideals, and specimens of depravity” (195). This essay examines Eddy’s views on fiction alongside Christian Science novels written around 1900 by followers such as Clara Louise Burnham, Mrs. Georgie Sheldon, and Katherine Yates. Eddy tentatively supported these authors’ literary productions but refused to grant them the endorsement of The Christian Science Publishing Society. Had Eddy endorsed their fictions, she might have attracted more followers and strengthened her religion’s place in literary history.
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