Available for the first time in English, Martin Lamm's work on the evolution of Emanuel Swedenborg's (1688-1772) philosphical system has stood as the standard humanist interpretation of Swedenborg's writings. First published in Swedish in 1915, the book has influenced generations of European scholars. His detailed investigation of the philosophical and religious background of Swedenborgian thought is an illuminating inquiry into the mystery of how Swedenborg was transformed from a scientist into a seer.

Lamm demonstrates that there is a logical and consisten line of thought developed from Swedenborg's earliest childhood experiences to his most mature theological statements. Backed by scholarly evidence, Lamm shows that Swedenborg's scientifically based worldview was not changed by his religious revelations -- rather, his visions completed and corroborated the picture.

Martin Lamm's analysis of the genesis of Swedenborgian philosophy is a masterful and lively portrait of one of history's most remarkable thinkers.

As a poet and storyteller, Olaf Lagercrantz approaches the works of Swedish scientist-turned-seer with the eyes of an artist, exploring the complex philosophy of one of Sweden's most famous sons with curiosity and open wonder. Lagercrantz examines Swedenborg's life, his experiences in heaven and hell, and writings about faith, the nature of the universe, and human relationships as works of literature, casting a new light on Swedenborg's ideas that often differs from the usual theological interpretations.

What is the "secret of Great Tartary"? What became of the Swedish clerk Carl Robsahm's original manuscript of his talks with Emanuel Swedenborg? What was Strindberg's reaction to Balzac's novel Seraphita?

These and other provocative questions are answered by Anders Hallengren in a selection of essays. Hallengren's research in various parts of the world brings to light records that were formerly thought to be lost. In addition, Hallengren traces routes of subtle influence that range from the experiences of Swedish soldiers captured in Russia to a chance encounter in a hotel in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, in the Virgin Islands. Hallengren argues that these influences show the profound effect of Swedenborgian thought on celebrated and ordinary people, resulting not only in profound art but in a better world.

The Grand Themeand Other Essays is a book of lyrical and critical essays that explores Anders Hallengren’s long-standing interest in the powerful legacy of his fellow countryman, Emanuel Swedenborg. The collection highlights Swedenborg’s diverse influence upon the fields of psychology, art, poetry, history, and music, variously describing Ralph Waldo Emerson and August Strindberg in Paris, court artists in Moscow, visionary composers in Stockholm, Surrealist poets in Mauritius, revolutionary heroes in Cuba, and Linneanists in Botany Bay.
 
The collection contains the following eight essays:
 
• “Verisimilitude and the Portrait of an Angel: On the Fortunes of a Swedish-Russian artist” (on painter Carl August Tholander)
• “The Grand Theme: A Journey in the Musical Universe” (on composer Tommie Haglund, music, and classical philosophy)
• “An Angle of Vision”(on Swedenborg’s clairvoyance)
• “The Heart of the Matter” (on Swedenborg’s influence on psychology)
• “In the Garden of God” (on Swedenborg’s and Carl Linnaeus’s influence in Australia)
• “Jardin des Plantes: The Most Important Place on Earth’” (on Swedenborg, Emerson, Strindberg, and Honoré de Balzac in Paris)
• “In the Shadow of Le Morne Brabant” (on Swedenborgianism in Mauritius)
• “The Oceanic Mind” (on Swedenborgianism in Cuba)

Written in 1782, Memoirs of Swedenborg by Carl Robsahm is without doubt the most compelling eyewitness account of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) to be published in any language. Drawing on reminiscences from his own long-standing friendship with and years as a neighbor to Swedenborg, Robsahm offers a fascinating picture of the Swedish philosopher and mystic as a man of gentleness and integrity.
 
Rich in detail and generosity, this memoir is a classic in its own right and a primary resource for all subsequent biographies. This edition has been selected and edited by Stephen McNeilly featuring revised translations, an introduction, and annotations by the renowned Swedish scholar Anders Hallengren. It also contains eight other historical documents concerning Swedenborg’s day-to-day life, three of which are from the hand of Swedenborg himself.
 
The volume includes:
 
• “Memoirs of Swedenborg” by Carl Robsahm
• “Reply to a Letter from a Friend” by Emanuel Swedenborg
• “A Truthful Account of the Late Queen Dowager at Haga in 1774” by Anders von Hopken
• Extract from the Proceedings of the Exegetic and Philanthropic Society in Stockholm
• “Memoranda in the Notebook of 1747–48” by Emanuel Swedenborg
• “Description of the Late Assessor, Mr. Emanuel Swedenborg’s Estate at Södermalm”
• “A List of Valuables of 1770” by Emanuel Swedenborg
• “A Visit to Swedenborg’s Home” by Carl Christoffer Gjörwell
• Testimony by Christian de Tuxen
 
Each document is accompanied by its own individual contextual introduction and annotations by Anders Hallengren. Also included in the volume are a general foreword and introduction by Anders Hallengren, a chronology of Swedenborg’s life and works, and an index.

The Moment Is Now: Carl Bernhard Wadström’s Revolutionary Voice on Human Trafficking and the Abolition of the African Slave Trade represents the efforts made by a wide variety of international scholars to give voice to the spirit of Swedish–British humanitarian cooperation that abolitionist and author Carl Bernhard Wadström (1746–99) started in London in the 1780s and '90s. Particularly focusing on Wadström’s often-overlooked life, work, and impact, this book demonstrates how the historical accounts and arguments related to the slavery issue can inform our modern understanding of human trafficking, racism, and systemic violence.

The Moment Is Now includes the proceedings of The International Carl Bernhard Wadström Conference on Human Rights and the Abolition of Slavery, which was held in London on June 2–4, 2015. Accessing source materials in different languages that were previously scattered throughout English, French, and Swedish archives, the scholars involved have been able to successfully investigate Wadström’s work and influence in such diverse areas as economics, science, abolitionism, travel writing, African colonial history, Swedenborgianism, philanthropy, utopianism, and human rights.

As its title makes clear, this book not only offers a glimpse into a significant moment in history but also serves as a call to action and a primer to be used in the here and now—a guide from which we can learn how to deal with those horrific forms of human oppression that Wadström and others like him sought to bring to an end.

The Moment Is Now is the twenty-second installment in the Swedenborg Studies scholarly series.