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The Legacy of the Beast: The Life, Work, and Influence of Aleister Crowley
Book by Suster, Gerald
229 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1989
About the author
Gerald Suster
23 books10 followersGerald Suster was a British revisionist historian, occult writer, and novelist. He was best known for his biographies of Aleister Crowley (The Legacy of the Beast) and Israel Regardie (Crowley's Apprentice), and many novels of horror and the occult.
While working in California, Gerald Suster met Israel Regardie and Gerald Yorke, two of the few remaining occultists who had studied directly under Aleister Crowley... and became a well-known figure in the London occult and pagan scenes.
In 1989 he became a tutor at Boarzell Tutorial College in Sussex; however his teaching career came to an abrupt end when he was featured in an exposé of his occult activities in the News of the World newspaper on 16 April 1989.[3] Suster sued the paper for libel... and got £80,000 of costs from them.
After the case, Gerald Suster & his new wife went on honeymoon to Madrid. On their return, he focused on being a full-time author, producing books of horror fiction, biography, occultism, and erotica. He called his new occupation "my most productive period of creative writing".
(Adapted from Wikipedia.)
While working in California, Gerald Suster met Israel Regardie and Gerald Yorke, two of the few remaining occultists who had studied directly under Aleister Crowley... and became a well-known figure in the London occult and pagan scenes.
In 1989 he became a tutor at Boarzell Tutorial College in Sussex; however his teaching career came to an abrupt end when he was featured in an exposé of his occult activities in the News of the World newspaper on 16 April 1989.[3] Suster sued the paper for libel... and got £80,000 of costs from them.
After the case, Gerald Suster & his new wife went on honeymoon to Madrid. On their return, he focused on being a full-time author, producing books of horror fiction, biography, occultism, and erotica. He called his new occupation "my most productive period of creative writing".
(Adapted from Wikipedia.)
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 6, 2022
[W H Allen - London] (1988). 1/1. HB. 224 Pages. Bought at auction (eBay).
A well written, compact survey of Crowley’s antics and spheres of operation.
“…a curious combination of gentleman and bohemian, holy man and rake-hell; yet a poet, a scholar and an outstanding sportsman…”
Ostensibly (at least) an even-handed account; one gains the impression that the subject - whilst certainly debauched - was more than happy to ride along with, or even fuel, his own extravagant mythology.
Contains an amusing compendium of lurid, contemporaneous press commentary upon the “King of Depravity”.
Sustained attempts to assert the (thought to be underappreciated) quality of his poetry fail at the hands of various excerpts included - awful stuff, laughably so, in some cases.
“The Arts and the Final Legacy” (the book’s closing chapter) is an interesting reference point for further reading.
Suster, whose research doubtless benefitted from his fraternity with both Israel Regardie and Gerald Yorke, was himself a rum, colourful character worthy of biographical attention.
A well written, compact survey of Crowley’s antics and spheres of operation.
“…a curious combination of gentleman and bohemian, holy man and rake-hell; yet a poet, a scholar and an outstanding sportsman…”
Ostensibly (at least) an even-handed account; one gains the impression that the subject - whilst certainly debauched - was more than happy to ride along with, or even fuel, his own extravagant mythology.
Contains an amusing compendium of lurid, contemporaneous press commentary upon the “King of Depravity”.
Sustained attempts to assert the (thought to be underappreciated) quality of his poetry fail at the hands of various excerpts included - awful stuff, laughably so, in some cases.
“The Arts and the Final Legacy” (the book’s closing chapter) is an interesting reference point for further reading.
Suster, whose research doubtless benefitted from his fraternity with both Israel Regardie and Gerald Yorke, was himself a rum, colourful character worthy of biographical attention.
May 31, 2018
Możliwe, że czas na zainteresowanie okultyzmem powinien mijać z końcem licbazy, ale z drugiej strony możliwe też, że niektórzy ludzie nie powinni pisać książek ani wydawać żadnych innych publikacji. Gerald Suster (bo o nim mowa) stworzył dzieło, które moim zdaniem jest idealnym przykładem jak nie powinno się pisać biografii i wprowadzeń do twórczości. Nie wymagam od razu skrajnego obiektywizmu i rozprawienia się ze swoim mistrzem jak Domosławski z Kapuścińskim, ale minimum dystansu do opisywanej jednostki jest konieczne. Przykłady: "Jego [Crowleya] rażący nonkonformizm i niezwykłe poczucie humoru wzbudzały wrogość maluczkich". I stronę dalej: "[Crowley] Był człowiekiem wyjątkowym, obdarzonym wieloma talentami, można by wręcz rzec - geniuszem". Dawno nie widziałem, by ktoś podchodził w tak bezkrytyczny sposób do swojego idola - nawet prawicowi komentatorzy piszący o papieżu nie klęczą przed swoim autorytetem jak Susler. Niestety takie strzały są praktycznie na co drugiej stronie. Do tego autor pisze w tak nieumiejętny sposób, że nie trzeba być wielkim detektywem, by przypuszczać, że chce ukryć rasizm, wykorzystywanie kobiet i sympatie nazistowskie Crowleya. Opis filozofii Crowleya jest wybitnie powierzchowny, co jak na mniemanie o własnej wiedzy Sustera, które bije z jego tekstu, jest rozczarowujące. "Dziedzictwo bestii" miało szokować treścią, a jedyne czym mnie zaszokowało to sekciarską czołobitnością i kompletnym brakiem umiejętności pisarskich. Uniosłem się, ale zwyczajnie szkoda mi czasu straconego na czytanie tej pozycji. Nie pozdrawiam.
October 20, 2020
Biografia ciekawa z jednym zastrzeżeniem. Czołobitności autora nie da się nie zauważyć, a to mocno przeszkadzało w czytaniu.
November 12, 2016
Hardcover: 232 pages
Publisher: W.H. Allen / Virgin Books; First Edition edition (January 21, 1988)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0491034466
ISBN-13: 978-0491034463
Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
224 pages, with 8 black & white photographs in the centre of the book, Newspaper cut out about Alesiter Crowley indcluded
Publisher: W.H. Allen / Virgin Books; First Edition edition (January 21, 1988)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0491034466
ISBN-13: 978-0491034463
Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
224 pages, with 8 black & white photographs in the centre of the book, Newspaper cut out about Alesiter Crowley indcluded
March 20, 2024
Liźnięcie biografii Mistrza, Wariata, Geniusza, Bestii, Niepoliczalnego Maga, Artysty, Szachisty Alpinisty i Nadczłowieka?
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews