There are many different types of unseen influences to be investigated. Of particular interest to me are cases of creative people who have a bad effect on those around them.
I have listed some ‘sacrificed sons’ in one article; I have highlighted the early deaths of Louisa M. Alcott’s brother-in-law and younger sister and the convenient death of Jane Austen’s future brother-in-law in another.
From the latter article:
“…Cassandra became engaged to a military chaplain who was sent overseas and died of yellow fever somewhere in the Caribbean. His patron said that he would never have taken the young man out there if he had known that he was an engaged man. Why didn’t he ask, and why did no one tell him? The end result was that Jane Austen kept her chosen companion: Cassandra never considered marrying anyone else...”
I have just read something about J. M. Barrie that has brought the Jane and Cassandra Austen case very much back to mind.
