A detailed examination of the last 15 years of Crowleytsquo;s life
hull; Reveals Crowley squo;s sex magick relations in London and his contacts with important figures, including Dion Fortune, Gerald Gardner, Jack Parsons, Dylan Thomas, and black equality activist Nancy Cunard
hull; Explores Crowleyosquo;s nick-of-time escape from the Nazi takeover in Germany and offers extensive confirmation of Crowleywsquo;s work for British intelligence
rull; Examines the development of Crowleywsquo;s later publications and his articles in reaction to the Nazi Gestapo actively persecuting his followers in Germany
After an extraordinary life of magical workings, occult fame, and artistic pursuits around the globe, Aleister Crowley was forced to spend the last fifteen years of his life in his native England, nearly penniless. Much less examined than his early years, this final period of the Beastnsquo;s life was just as filled with sex magick, espionage, romance, transatlantic conflict, and extreme behavior.
Drawing on previously unpublished diaries and letters, Tobias Churton provides the first detailed treatment of the final years of Crowley squo;s life, from 1932 to 1947. He opens with Crowleyesquo;s nick-of-time escape from the Nazi takeover in Germany and his return home to England, flat broke. Churton offers extensive confirmation of Crowleymsquo;s work as a secret operative for MI5 and explores how Crowley saw World War II as the turning point for the >dquo;New Aeon. dquo; He examines Crowleywsquo;s notorious 1934 London trial, which resulted in his bankruptcy, and shares inside stories of Crowleyssquo;s relations with Californian O.T.O. followers, including rocket-fuel specialist Jack Parsons, and his attempt to take over H. Spencer Lewisssquo;s Rosicrucian Order. The author reveals Crowleyesquo;s sex magick relations in London and his contacts with spiritual leaders of the time, including Dion Fortune and Wicca founder Gerald Gardner. He examines Crowley squo;s dealings with artists such as Dylan Thomas, Alfred Hitchcock, Augustus John, Peter Warlock, and Peter Brooks and dispels the accusations that Crowley was racist, exploring his work with lifelong friend, black equality activist Nancy Cunard.
Churton also examines the development of Crowley squo;s later publications such as Magick without Tears as well as his articles in reaction to the Nazi Gestapo who was actively persecuting his remaining followers in Germany. Presenting an intimate and compelling study of Crowley in middle and old age, Churton shows how the Beast still wields a wand-like power to delight and astonish.
