Edmund Shaftesbury (1852–1926)

One of the most abundant of the weird book genres is that of self-improvement. Thousands of books promising better health, longer life, improved mental acuity, success with the opposite sex, or even psychic powers have been published, especially at the height of such titles’ popularity from the 1900s through the 1930s.
"Instantaneous Personal Magnetism" was the cornerstone of an entire movement that included books, pamphlets, lecture tours, and even a short-lived utopian community started in 1905. Founded by Webster Edgerly, an eccentric social reform activist, magnetism promised many things, all in the florid prose popular at the time:

“A great new vista stretches out before you. Magnetism! It will mean marvelous new powers for you. It will mean success in the things you undertake. It will mean happiness – such happiness as you never dreamed possible! How, you ask? Magnetism will draw to you the things you want as a magnet draws to itself bits of steel! No more reaching for the moon! No more vain longings, no more vague restlessness! Develop your personal magnetism and you will get from life just what you want!”

Like most of its peers in the realm of weird self-help books, "Magnetism" doesn’t really give clear directions for achieving the goals it states. Instead, the reader discovers pages and pages of bizarre advice and egotistical ramblings: “this book should be made a part of every school and college training, for it surpasses in importance the whole fabric of knowledge taught in the greatest universities.”
Not a humble man was Webster Edgerly, but his book makes for fascinating weird reading.… (mer)