According to Susan Bridge, Eddy "sought to return to the unadorned principles of earliest Christianity" including "Jesus' practice as reported in the New Testament of healing the sick.

[9] Since at least as early as 1899, there were press reports that Eddy had died, and biographer Gillian Gill writes that "proving that she was alive was one of the strangest tasks [she] faced in her last twenty-five years of life.

"[10][a] The problem was compounded as Eddy, who was 86 years old by 1906, retreated from public life to her home at Pleasant View in Concord, New Hampshire, rarely leaving except for her daily drives around town.

[12] In response to questions, she wrote in the Christian Science Sentinel telling her followers not to cling to her personality, and that she had left Boston "to retreat from the world" and seek God.

[13] However, the increasing restrictions as to who had access to Eddy fueled conspiracy theories even among Christian Scientists that she was under the control of a "cabal" at the church headquarters in Boston or at Pleasant View, and rumors arose regarding her health.

[20] On October 28, the World published a story under the heading "MRS. MARY BAKER G. EDDY DYING: FOOTMAN AND 'DUMMY' CONTROL HER: Founder of X Science Suffering from Cancer and Nearing Her End, Is Immured at Pleasant View, While Another Woman Impersonates Her in the Streets of Concord.

"[20] Gillian Gill writes that the World "was read for sensation, not accuracy, but even by the paper's own standards the claims made in this article on Mary Baker Eddy were extreme.

Her sunken, faded eyes gazed helplessly, almost pleadingly, at her visitors..."[23] The condemnation of The World's article, especially in Concord, where Eddy lived and was seen daily, was significant.

[24] Despite Eddy's relative seclusion, a number of Concord citizens had access to her; Gill writes that this ranged from "odd-job gardeners and painters,... to local editors and bank managers" who had no connection to Christian Science.

[25] After the article, the Mayor of Concord, Charles R. Corning, went to meet with Eddy, and afterwards gave a lengthy interview in the Boston Herald, saying: "I had gone expecting to find a tottering old woman, perhaps incoherent, almost senile.

[29] Amy Voorhees writes that the World "hoped to capitalize on the mixture of notoriety, popularity, confusion, controversy, and sheer name recognition by then surrounding Eddy and her new sect.

[36] The World began by hiring as counsel William E. Chandler, a prominent lawyer and former US senator from New Hampshire who was living in Washington but was born in Concord and considered it his home.

[35] The World tracked down Eddy's son George Washington Glover II in South Dakota and told him that his mother was mentally incompetent to manage her affairs, and that she was under the control of her advisors.

[55] On March 6, Eddy summoned her lawyer Frank Streeter and a number of others to her house and signed a deed of trust which she had been planning since February, handing her personal property over to three trustees: her cousin Henry Moore Baker, Christian Science Board of Directors member Archibald McLellan, and banker Josiah Fernald.

[61] The interview became a turning point of the case, as Eddy answered questions regarding her finances and investments, as well as giving an explanation of how she came to develop the teachings of Christian Science.

[63] Streeter asked the court not to allow the dismissal, but to give an official ruling in order to completely clear Eddy and the ten men who were accused of controlling her of all charges.

[66] According to scholar Amy Voorhees, "the Next Friends suit could be considered the largest national media spectacle at the opening of the twentieth century", with at least 2,800 articles written by various newspapers.

[67] And according to William Upton, "The case was remarkable, not simply for the conflict between these capable antagonists [Chandler and Streeter], but also because the tactics foreshadowed the more public litigation style that became commonplace toward the end of the century.