Elizabeth Towne

Born in 1865, Elizabeth Towne became one of the best-known figures in the American New Thought movement. She was a writer, lecturer, editor, and publisher whose work centered on mental healing, prosperity, personal power, and practical spirituality.

She is especially remembered for publishing Nautilus, a hugely influential New Thought magazine, and for building a successful publishing business around these ideas. Her company helped circulate both her own books and the work of other writers, giving a wide readership to teachings that mixed self-improvement, metaphysics, and positive thinking.

Towne's influence lasted well beyond her own lifetime. By the time of her death in 1960, she had spent decades shaping the language and reach of popular spiritual self-help in the United States.