Continuing my explorations into 19th century supernatural fiction, I discovered The Simon Iff Stories and Other Works by Aleister Crowley from the second decade of the 20th century.
'Now,' said he, 'the problem is to find the inoffensive stranger. I had better leave Scotland. Everyone in Scotland is offensive. Also, in the matter of motive, our common humanity urges us all to kill Scotchmen. So good-bye, land o' cakes!'
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The Simon Iff Stories and Other Works is the first complete collection of all 23 Simon Iff short stories together with a further 8 stories comprising the Golden Twigs series inspired by the works of James G. Frazer and his The Golden Bough. All of these tales were written by Crowley between 1915 and 1919 while he lived in the U.S. This particular edition was published in 2012 by Wordsworth Editions and is part of the Tales of Mystery and the Supernatural series. A fine series of reprints and collections which I wholeheartedly endorse.
One Simon Iff tale is not included in this collection. The only novel to include Simon Iff, it is also the only Iff story where occult practices play a part in the plotline. When written in 1917, it was known as The Butterfly Net. However, by its first publication in 1929, its name had changed to Moonchild.
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Yes, I know. The Simon Iff stories presented here are not from the 19th century and, honestly, have almost nothing to do with the supernatural. But bear with me a little bit. Born in 1875, Crowley was a product of the time in which he grew to adulthood, the late Victorian Age. His generation was among the last to grow from birth to adulthood entirely under Victoria's shadow.
From a literary standpoint, Crowley's Simon Iff short stories fit prominently into the "occult detective" sub-genre along with Hodgson's Carnacki and others. However, Crowley's infamous reputation both as an occultist and as a person, deserved or not, has handicapped his accomplishments as an author of fiction. For myself, only knowing him via his "wicked" reputation, I was hesitant to read this collection. Now, I am so glad that I got past my reservations.
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Among occult or psychic detective tales the Simon Iff stories are rather unique. There are no supernatural elements whatsoever. Not even paranormal phenomena. The cases that Simon Iff investigates are all very human crimes.[i]
There is a superb review of this work on the Vintage Pop Fictions blog, so I shall not go over the same material. I have referenced this site's excellent work in a previous posting and probably will again in a future post. I strongly encourage a careful perusal of this blog.
Honestly, I have only a few comments to add and offer a few pertinent details to Crowley's occult background.
Crowley was initiated into the Golden Dawn in 1898.[ii] He rose through the degrees rapidly, but not without controversy.[iii] At that time, known as the Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn, it was the final flowering or the culmination of the Victorian Occult Revival. Everything that came after the Golden Dawn's fall would be a pale shadow of it. While there is much more to this story and Crowley's not insignificant role in the collapse of the Golden Dawn, it will suffice for this blog post.
In 1904, Crowley was initiated into the Freemasons and by the end of that year had received the 3rd Degree, under the jurisdiction of the Grande Loge du France.[iv]
The earliest members of the Golden Dawn, from the late 1880s, were all Freemasons. The organizational structure of the Golden Dawn was based strongly on that of Masonic lodges. For Crowley to be initiated into the Golden Dawn first and then a few years later join the Masonic order was uncommon in the late nineteenth-century.
I mention all this, not just for the sake of providing background. There is at least one Masonic reference in nearly each Simon Iff story.
If one has the eyes to see.
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References
Crowley, Aleister. The Simon Iff Stories and Other Works. Wordsworth Editions: Hertfordshire, 2012.
Jones, David Richard. Hermetic.com. "Aleister Crowley Freemason? Revisited." 26 July 2003. Revised 26 May 2011. 2 September 2016.
http://hermetic.com/jones/aleister-crowley-freemason-revisited.html
Starr, Martin. "Aleister Crowley: Freemason." Reprint AQC Volume 108 1995. 2 September 2016. http://www.mastermason.com/luxocculta/forbidde.htm
Vintage Pop Fictions. "Aleister Crowley’s Simon Iff Stories and Other Works." 29 May 2013. 25 August 2016. http://vintagepopfictions.blogspot.com/2013/05/aleister-crowleys-simon-iff-stories-and.html
Wikipedia. "Simon Iff." 28 August 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Iff.
[i] http://vintagepopfictions.blogspot.com/2013/05/aleister-crowleys-simon-iff-stories-and.html
[ii] Starr, Martin. "Aleister Crowley: Freemason." Reprint AQC Volume 108 1995.
[iii] Flamboyant, eccentric and a bit of a megalomaniac, Crowley had a real knack for pissing people off...Just like Simon Iff.
[iv] Starr, Martin. "Aleister Crowley: Freemason." Reprint AQC Volume 108 1995. This affiliation was cloudy and very irregular.
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