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New book of short stories from Aleister Crowley

By Psyche | June 13, 2010 | Print This Post | E-mail This Post | 3 Comments

What’s this?

Wordsworth Editions, typically known for their cheap reprints of material that’s gone out of copyright, has released The Drug and Other Stories, a collection of forty-nine short stories by Aleister Crowley.

From the publisher’s website:

This volume brings together the uncollected short fiction of the poet, writer and religious philosopher Aleister Crowley (1875–1947). Crowley was a successful critic, editor and author of fiction from 1908 to 1922, and his short stories are long overdue for discovery. Of the forty-nine stories in the present volume, only thirty were published in his lifetime. Most of the rest appear here for the first time.

Like their author, Crowley’s stories are fun, smart, witty, thought-provoking and sometimes unsettling. They are set in places he had lived and knew well: Belle Epoque Paris, Edwardian London, pre-revolutionary Russia and America during the first World War. The title story ‘The Drug’ stands as one of the first—if not the first—accounts of a psychedelic experience. His ‘Black and Silver’ is a knowing early noir discovery that anticipates an entire genre. ‘Atlantis’ is a masterpiece of occult fantasy, a dark satire that can stand with Samuel Butler’s Erewhon. Frank Harris considered ‘The Testament of Magdalen Blair’ the most terrifying tale ever written.

The book contains an introduction by William Breeze and a foreword by David Tibet, followed by “extensive editorial end-notes give full details about the stories”.

How exciting! Continue reading »

Moonchild reissued by Arcane Wisdom

By Psyche | January 31, 2010 | Print This Post | E-mail This Post | 1 Comment

Moonchild, by Aleister CrowleyArcane Wisdom, an imprint of Bloodletting Press, is reissuing a limited edition of Aleister Crowley’s novel Moonchild.

Included in this edition is a long introduction by Don Webb, author of Aleister Crowley: The Fire and the Force, among other books on occultism.

The plot description on Horror-Mall.com is brief:

Moonchild is a novel written by the British occultist Aleister Crowley in 1917. Its plot involves a magical war between a group of white magicians, led by the protagonist Simon Iff, and a group of black magicians over an unborn child. It was first published by Mandrake Press in 1929.

Moonchild is a novel held in high regard for its magical and occult significance and also for its complex and well written prose.

The print run is limited to 200 copies and retails for 55$US. The only source I’ve been able to find selling copies is Horror-Mall.com.

Thanks to Cole Tucker for the tip!

New Austin Osman Spare catalogue at Weiser Antiquarian

By Psyche | May 23, 2009 | Print This Post | E-mail This Post | Comments Off

Austin Osman Spare Portrait Weiser Antiquarian‘s fifty eighth catalogue titled “Austin Osman Spare. Books and Ephemera.” features works by and about Spare.

Here you’ll find first editions of Spare’s work, as well as (more affordable) reprints, biographies and rare catalogues from art exhibitions.

I just bought a copy of Evolution, Volume One, by Stephen Pochin and two catalogues, Borough Satyr and Austin Osman Spare: Artist – Occultist – Sensualist which I’m very excited about.

It’s also fascinating to see how much the prices have climbed for some of the works I already own. Geeze. If you’re interested in Spare, and can afford to, buy while still can.

And hey, as an added bonus, it looks like Weiser Anitquarian now hosts a variety of RSS feeds so you can be notified of any new books that come in under your favourite categories. Neat.

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