The Rushlight (1906)

The Rushlight is a novel written by Joseph Campbell and published in 1906. The story is set in the late 18th century in Scotland and follows the life of a young man named James Macdonald. James is the son of a wealthy landowner and is expected to take over the family estate. However, he is more interested in pursuing a career in medicine and decides to leave home to study in Edinburgh.While in Edinburgh, James becomes involved with a group of students who are experimenting with electricity. They discover a new type of light, which they call the rushlight, and James becomes obsessed with perfecting it. He spends all his time working on the rushlight and neglects his studies and his relationships with his friends and family.As James becomes more and more consumed by his obsession, he begins to lose touch with reality. He starts to see visions and becomes convinced that he has discovered the secret to eternal life. His friends and family become increasingly concerned about his mental state and try to intervene, but James refuses to listen.In the end, James's obsession with the rushlight leads to his downfall. He loses everything he holds dear and is left alone and destitute. The novel explores themes of obsession, ambition, and the dangers of pursuing scientific knowledge without regard for the consequences.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.