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CROWLEY, ALEISTER. 1929 Moonchild: A Prologue. Crowley's copy, with his holograph key to the characters.
CROWLEY'S COPY, WITH HIS HOLOGRAPH KEY TO THE CHARACTERS CROWLEY, ALEISTER. Moonchild: A Prologue. 8vo, original green cloth, binding cocked, edges and corners rubbed, spine ends bumped; minor marginal spotting on a few leaves; lacking dust jacket. London: The Mandrake Press, 1929
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Notes: first edition of a fictionalized account of Crowley''s world, filled with artists, magicians and fantastic events, centering on an attempt to catch a "lunar spirit" and cause it to incarnate in a newborn infant. "In this novel I have given an elaborate description of modern magical theories and practices. Most of the characters are real people whom I have known and many of the incidents taken from experience" (Confessions, page 777).
crowley''s copy, with his signed bookplate on the front pastedown and with marginalia in his hand identifying the real-life counterparts of every important character in the novel: e. g., the author is hero Cyril Grey; his mistress Mary d''Este Sturges is heroine Lisa la Giuffria; noted dancer Isadora Duncan is Lavinia King; and Simon Iff is "A.C. as he would like to be." Less flattering portrayals are given of Crowley''s enemies, including his estranged magical mentor Samuel Liddell Mathers, who appears as the villainous S.R.M.D., and the poet William Butler Yeats, who is depicted as "a lean, cadaverous Protestant-Irishman named Gates." should be seen.
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