author
James Hawthorne Loryea
1862–1920
An early-20th-century writer and hypnotism enthusiast, he explored free will, suggestion, heredity, and the workings of the mind under the pen name Santanelli. His best-known book, Is Man a Free Agent?, offers a fascinating window into popular ideas about hypnosis and human behavior in 1902.
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About the author
James Hawthorne Loryea (1862–1920) was an American writer associated with hypnosis, suggestion, and popular psychology. He published under the name Santanelli, presenting himself as an investigator and practitioner of hypnotism. His work reflects the era’s lively interest in whether human thought and behavior were governed by free will, heredity, or external influence.
His best-known book, Is Man a Free Agent? The Law of Suggestion, Including Hypnosis, What and Why It Is, and How to Induce It, the Law of Nature, Mind, Heredity, Etc., was published in Lansing, Michigan, in 1902 by the Santanelli Publishing Company. Loryea also appears in Library of Congress records as the author of the 1887 play A Bar of Soap.