Massey, Gerald (1828-1907)

English poet and mystic. His first book of verse was published 1848 and was followed by several others; a selection from these was published in My Lyrical Life 1889. Later he wrote and lectured on spiritualism, and produced prose works on the origin of myths and mysteries. He also wrote on the sonnets of Shakespeare.

He was born near Tring, Hertfordshire. As a boy he worked in a silk factory, but in 1843 he went to London, where he was taken up by Maurice and Charles Kingsley in the Christian Socialist movement. His prose works include A Book of Beginnings 1881, The Natural Genesis 1883, and Ancient Egypt: the Light of the World 1907.