Genevieve Behrend: The Only Personal Student of Thomas Troward

Introduction

Genevieve Behrend (1881–1960) stands as a singular figure in the history of the New Thought movement. She was the only personal student of Thomas Troward, the British judge and philosopher whose lectures on mental science profoundly shaped early twentieth-century metaphysical thought. Behrend’s journey from a grieving widow in New York to Troward’s study in Cornwall, England, is a testament to the very principles she later taught. Her book Your Invisible Power, published in 1921, remains a classic of New Thought literature, and her life story illustrates the practical application of mental visualization and affirmation that became central to the movement. This article traces her path, sets her within the broader context of New Thought, and assesses her lasting significance.

Historical Context

The New Thought movement emerged in the United States during the mid-nineteenth century, drawing from a confluence of Transcendentalism, mesmerism, Swedenborgianism, and the healing practices of Phineas Quimby. Quimby, a clockmaker and mesmerist from Maine, developed a system of mental healing that rejected medical orthodoxy and emphasized the power of the mind to influence health. His ideas influenced Mary Baker Eddy, who founded Christian Science, and later diverged into a broader movement that included figures like Emma Curtis Hopkins, Charles and Myrtle Fillmore (Unity), Nona Brooks (Divine Science), and Ernest Holmes (Religious Science). These groups shared a core belief in the immanence of God, the creative power of thought, and the possibility of healing through mental and spiritual alignment.

By the early twentieth century, New Thought had grown into a network of independent churches, study groups, and publications, including The Christian Science Journal, Unity Magazine, Science of Mind, and The Nautilus. Into this milieu stepped Genevieve Behrend, a French-born woman whose personal quest for truth would lead her to the doorstep of one of the movement’s most intellectual exponents.

Main Narrative

Early Life and Search for Truth

Genevieve Behrend was born in Paris in 1881 to a Scottish parent and a French parent, though little is known about her childhood. After the death of her husband, she began traveling extensively, seeking spiritual understanding. She studied Christian Science and met its founder, Mary Baker Eddy, but eventually left that faith, finding its doctrines too restrictive. During this period, she also met Abdul Baha, the son of the founder of the Bahá’í Faith, who prophesied that she would “travel the world over seeking the truth, and when [she] had found it, would speak it out.” This encounter left a lasting impression and foreshadowed her later career as a teacher and author.

Discovering Thomas Troward

While living in New York, Behrend came across a book of lectures by Thomas Troward, a retired judge from India who had become a leading voice in the New Thought movement. Troward’s works, such as The Edinburgh Lectures on Mental Science and The Dore Lectures, articulated a rational, philosophical approach to mental healing. Behrend was profoundly inspired. She felt an overwhelming desire to study directly with Troward, who lived in Cornwall, England. However, she lacked the money to travel. Rather than abandon her dream, she turned to the very principles she was learning.

Becoming Troward’s Pupil

As Behrend later recounted in Your Invisible Power, she began a disciplined practice of visualization. Every morning and night, she vividly imagined counting out twenty one-thousand-dollar bills, purchasing her ticket to London, sailing across the Atlantic, and being accepted as Troward’s pupil. She also repeated the affirmation, “My mind is a center of Divine operations.” She asked a friend to write to Troward on her behalf, but received no reply. Undeterred, she continued her mental rehearsals. Eventually, after several letters, a reply came, and her passage to England was arranged. She traveled to Cornwall and was accepted as Troward’s only personal student, studying with him for a period that she described as transformative.

Teaching and Writing

After her studies with Troward, Behrend became a teacher and public speaker. She toured the United States, speaking at New Thought churches and gatherings from as early as 1919 to as late as 1944, according to records in the Brooklyn Times Union, Los Angeles Times, Dayton Daily News, and Santa Cruz Sentinel. In 1921, she published Your Invisible Power, a concise guide to mental science that distilled Troward’s teachings into practical exercises. The book became a staple of New Thought literature, offering readers a step-by-step method for using visualization and affirmation to achieve their goals. Behrend’s writing is notable for its clarity and personal warmth, drawing on her own experiences as evidence of the principles she espoused.

Later Years and Legacy

Behrend continued to teach and write until her death in the United States in 1960. While she did not found a lasting organization, her book and her personal story have inspired generations of New Thought students. Her emphasis on the power of visualization prefigured later developments in the human potential movement and the self-help industry. Today, she is remembered as a bridge between Troward’s intellectual system and the practical, accessible spirituality that characterizes much of modern New Thought.

Why It Matters in New Thought History

Genevieve Behrend’s significance lies not only in her unique relationship with Thomas Troward but also in her role as a popularizer. Troward’s writings were dense and philosophical; Behrend made them approachable. Your Invisible Power translated abstract metaphysical concepts into concrete practices that anyone could follow. Her story of visualizing her way to Cornwall became a powerful anecdote, demonstrating that the principles of mental science work in real life. She also exemplified the movement’s international reach, bringing French and British influences into the American New Thought fold. For students of New Thought history, Behrend offers a case study in how individual initiative and spiritual seeking could converge with a broader movement, and how a single devoted pupil could amplify a teacher’s legacy.

Primary Sources

• Your Invisible Power by Genevieve Behrend (1921) – Her primary work, containing her personal account of studying with Troward and practical instructions on visualization and affirmation.
• Letters to Troward – Though not publicly available, Behrend’s correspondence with Troward is referenced in her book and would be invaluable for understanding their relationship.
• New Thought periodicals – Articles by or about Behrend in publications like Unity Magazine and The Nautilus from the 1920s-1940s document her public speaking and teachings.
• Newspaper archives – Clippings from the Brooklyn Times Union (1919), Los Angeles Times (1928), Dayton Daily News (1933), and Santa Cruz Sentinel (1944) provide evidence of her lecture tours.