Curnow, W. Leslie (d. 1926)
Curnow, W. Leslie (d. 1926)
Australian-born journalist who became prominent as a Spiritualist in Britain. He was born in New South Wales and studied at Sydney University (B.A.). He was a journalist on the staff of the Sydney Morning Herald and then moved to London in 1913 to write for the Times.
Curnow became a member of the Society for Psychical Re-search and was assistant editor of the Spiritualist journal Light. He contributed articles to a variety of psychic periodicals and was responsible for several books, including The W. T. Stead Borderland Library Catalogue (1923) and The Physical Phenomena of Spiritualism: A Historical Survey (1925).
He is chiefly remembered for his involvement with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 's famous two-volume work The History of Spiritualism, first published at the author's own expense in 1924 and reprinted in 1975. In this work Doyle gratefully acknowledges his indebtedness to Curnow, pointing out that such a history needed more research than his own busy life permitted. Doyle also states in his preface, "I cannot admit too fully the loyal assistance which he (Curnow) has given me, and if I have not conjoined his name with my own upon the title-page it is for reasons which he understands and in which he acquiesces." Curnow died February 11, 1926.
Sources:
Doyle, Arthur Conan. The History of Spiritualism. 2 vols. London: The Author, 1924. Reprint, New York: Arno Press, 1975.