The Spirits' Book was written by the nineteenth-century Frenchman Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail, under the pen name Allan Kardec, and is regarded as one of the five fundamental works of Spiritism. Le livre des esprits was first published in 1857 and later underwent several revisions, resulting in more than twenty-five subsequent editions. It has been translated into forty-six languages. Rivail was impelled by the popular religious esotericism that was sweeping North America and Europe during the mid-nineteenth century. After taking a particular interest in Spiritualism, Rivail scrutinized this movement's beliefs and practices in an effort to create a more holistic adaptation of the Spiritualist faith.