Charles Lloyd Tuckey: medical hypnotist and ‘amiable necromancer’

Abstract

Charles Lloyd Tuckey (1854–1925) was one of the leaders of the British ‘New Hypnotism’ movement of the late nineteenth century. This neglected figure is important because of his contributions to the early psychotherapies in Britain, ushering in the concept of suggestion to British medicine from Europe. Through his networks and clubs, Tuckey demonstrates the bewildering range of institutions that shaped and spread the novel theory of suggestion and the nascent talking therapies at this time. His affiliations to psychic investigation and ceremonial magic societies demonstrate his intellectual curiosity rather than backwards primitivism. Tuckey played an important role in establishing the term ‘psychotherapeutics’ and legitimising medical hypnotism, a precursor of the psychological therapies of the early twentieth century.