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The Bowmen and Other Legends of the War:
Machen's classic tales of angelic intervention on behalf of the English in World War I. Includes an introduction and postscript about the phenomenon that Machen inadvertently touched off.
52 pages, Paperback
First published February 24, 1914
About the author
Arthur Machen
1,164 books1,030 followersArthur Machen was a leading Welsh author of the 1890s. He is best known for his influential supernatural, fantasy, and horror fiction. His long story The Great God Pan made him famous and controversial in his lifetime, but The Hill of Dreams is generally considered his masterpiece. He also is well known for his leading role in creating the legend of the Angels of Mons.
At the age of eleven, Machen boarded at Hereford Cathedral School, where he received an excellent classical education. Family poverty ruled out attendance at university, and Machen was sent to London, where he sat exams to attend medical school but failed to get in. Machen, however, showed literary promise, publishing in 1881 a long poem "Eleusinia" on the subject of the Eleusinian Mysteries. Returning to London, he lived in relative poverty, attempting to work as a journalist, as a publisher's clerk, and as a children's tutor while writing in the evening and going on long rambling walks across London.
In 1884 he published his second work, the pastiche The Anatomy of Tobacco, and secured work with the publisher and bookseller George Redway as a cataloguer and magazine editor. This led to further work as a translator from French, translating the Heptameron of Marguerite de Navarre, Le Moyen de Parvenir (Fantastic Tales) of Béroalde de Verville, and the Memoirs of Casanova. Machen's translations in a spirited English style became standard ones for many years.
Around 1890 Machen began to publish in literary magazines, writing stories influenced by the works of Robert Louis Stevenson, some of which used gothic or fantastic themes. This led to his first major success, The Great God Pan. It was published in 1894 by John Lane in the noted Keynotes Series, which was part of the growing aesthetic movement of the time. Machen's story was widely denounced for its sexual and horrific content and subsequently sold well, going into a second edition.
Machen next produced The Three Impostors, a novel composed of a number of interwoven tales, in 1895. The novel and the stories within it were eventually to be regarded as among Machen's best works. However, following the scandal surrounding Oscar Wilde later that year, Machen's association with works of decadent horror made it difficult for him to find a publisher for new works. Thus, though he would write some of his greatest works over the next few years, some were published much later. These included The Hill of Dreams, Hieroglyphics, A Fragment of Life, the story The White People, and the stories which make up Ornaments in Jade.
At the age of eleven, Machen boarded at Hereford Cathedral School, where he received an excellent classical education. Family poverty ruled out attendance at university, and Machen was sent to London, where he sat exams to attend medical school but failed to get in. Machen, however, showed literary promise, publishing in 1881 a long poem "Eleusinia" on the subject of the Eleusinian Mysteries. Returning to London, he lived in relative poverty, attempting to work as a journalist, as a publisher's clerk, and as a children's tutor while writing in the evening and going on long rambling walks across London.
In 1884 he published his second work, the pastiche The Anatomy of Tobacco, and secured work with the publisher and bookseller George Redway as a cataloguer and magazine editor. This led to further work as a translator from French, translating the Heptameron of Marguerite de Navarre, Le Moyen de Parvenir (Fantastic Tales) of Béroalde de Verville, and the Memoirs of Casanova. Machen's translations in a spirited English style became standard ones for many years.
Around 1890 Machen began to publish in literary magazines, writing stories influenced by the works of Robert Louis Stevenson, some of which used gothic or fantastic themes. This led to his first major success, The Great God Pan. It was published in 1894 by John Lane in the noted Keynotes Series, which was part of the growing aesthetic movement of the time. Machen's story was widely denounced for its sexual and horrific content and subsequently sold well, going into a second edition.
Machen next produced The Three Impostors, a novel composed of a number of interwoven tales, in 1895. The novel and the stories within it were eventually to be regarded as among Machen's best works. However, following the scandal surrounding Oscar Wilde later that year, Machen's association with works of decadent horror made it difficult for him to find a publisher for new works. Thus, though he would write some of his greatest works over the next few years, some were published much later. These included The Hill of Dreams, Hieroglyphics, A Fragment of Life, the story The White People, and the stories which make up Ornaments in Jade.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
August 5, 2019
This was a reread. An it was as enjoyable as the first time.
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September 1, 2023Despite its fame, Arthur Machen's The Bowmen isn't that good. It's sentimental jingoistic propaganda, and its central premise that the English people aren't rational and are in fact mystics who avoided sinking into materialism contradicts the view pushed forth in all his other works. It is an enjoyable slight piece if you can look past this, but its prominence is due to its historical value as the source of a myth rather than literary quality.
Unusually for a story collection, the introduction is perhaps the standout piece here. It's hard not to be charmed by the sheer absurdity of anti-materialist, anti-skeptic, anti-atheist Arthur Machen accidentally having his fantasy fiction story 'The Bowmen' widely mistaken for a true account and then being stuck spending years trying to disprove it with rational evidence.
The following stories are propagandist, jingoistic and tiny -- the famous title story is hardly essential Machen like The Hill of Dreams or The White People -- though they are quite enjoyable and occasionally irrupt into that familiar, coruscating musical rhythm of Machen's. Unsurprisingly due to my temperament, the standout story for me in this minuscule collection is the sole horror story: The Monstrance.
Unusually for a story collection, the introduction is perhaps the standout piece here. It's hard not to be charmed by the sheer absurdity of anti-materialist, anti-skeptic, anti-atheist Arthur Machen accidentally having his fantasy fiction story 'The Bowmen' widely mistaken for a true account and then being stuck spending years trying to disprove it with rational evidence.
The following stories are propagandist, jingoistic and tiny -- the famous title story is hardly essential Machen like The Hill of Dreams or The White People -- though they are quite enjoyable and occasionally irrupt into that familiar, coruscating musical rhythm of Machen's. Unsurprisingly due to my temperament, the standout story for me in this minuscule collection is the sole horror story: The Monstrance.
May 26, 2019
I read an edition of this book available legally and for free from Archive.org.
Machen's work is a fast read, with about half the volume as an introspective on the phenomena he touched off. He wrote a story about a British soldier in the trenches who called upon St. George, to be answered by an ethereal force of archers who slaughtered the encroaching German units. To the modern reader, it's a story with no real substance--it's fluff and optimism with no plot. However, following its publication during the War, the story went viral. People started saying they had a friend or cousin or a preacher who vouched the incident really happened, but the actual witnesses never managed to speak up.
This genuinely baffled the author of the original tale. As he observes, "... how is it that a nation plunged in materialism of the grossest kind has accepted idle rumours and gossip of the supernatural as certain truth? The answer is contained in the question: it is precisely because our whole atmosphere is materialist that we are ready to credit anything--save the truth."
The booklet includes two other stories of his as well which are likewise light on plot or much else but sentimental and optimistic in a way that would comfort worried readers during the War.
Machen's work is a fast read, with about half the volume as an introspective on the phenomena he touched off. He wrote a story about a British soldier in the trenches who called upon St. George, to be answered by an ethereal force of archers who slaughtered the encroaching German units. To the modern reader, it's a story with no real substance--it's fluff and optimism with no plot. However, following its publication during the War, the story went viral. People started saying they had a friend or cousin or a preacher who vouched the incident really happened, but the actual witnesses never managed to speak up.
This genuinely baffled the author of the original tale. As he observes, "... how is it that a nation plunged in materialism of the grossest kind has accepted idle rumours and gossip of the supernatural as certain truth? The answer is contained in the question: it is precisely because our whole atmosphere is materialist that we are ready to credit anything--save the truth."
The booklet includes two other stories of his as well which are likewise light on plot or much else but sentimental and optimistic in a way that would comfort worried readers during the War.
July 6, 2023
The stories are, in author’s own words, an indifferent piece of work, but the life one of them took is fascinating!
March 18, 2023
[G. P. Putnam’s Sons] (1915). HB. 77 Pages. Purchased from ‘cryptocellus’.
Somewhat entertaining but well shy of the author’s brilliant best.
Machen’s Introduction oozes consternation.
He long struggled with credulous fools who lightly seized upon a minor, frivolous, fictional work as an account of bona fide battlefield ‘miracles’, when they were: “…pure invention…” lacking even “…foundation in rumour…”
“Well, I have long maintained that on the whole the average church, considered as a house of preaching, is a much more poisonous place than the average tavern…”
Somewhat entertaining but well shy of the author’s brilliant best.
Machen’s Introduction oozes consternation.
He long struggled with credulous fools who lightly seized upon a minor, frivolous, fictional work as an account of bona fide battlefield ‘miracles’, when they were: “…pure invention…” lacking even “…foundation in rumour…”
“Well, I have long maintained that on the whole the average church, considered as a house of preaching, is a much more poisonous place than the average tavern…”
March 11, 2018
Interesting collection of WWI stories by Machen. Contains a fascinating introduction by Machen explaining how his simple story The Bowmen grew into a legend of the war.
November 27, 2017
Easily the best way to read Machens WW1 stories!
If you have read stories such as 'The Bowman' and 'The Monstance' before, then this is still worth reading, purely for Machens preface giving his slightly amusing take on the 'Angels of Mons' controversy. There is even a short piece by someone called 'The Londoner' (who I suspect is also Machen writing under a pen name) who argues against Machens claims of the legend coming from his imagination.
A short read, but also one of the more important ones outside of the 'Great God Pan' and 'The White People'.
Definitely worth grabbing off Project Gutenberg!
If you have read stories such as 'The Bowman' and 'The Monstance' before, then this is still worth reading, purely for Machens preface giving his slightly amusing take on the 'Angels of Mons' controversy. There is even a short piece by someone called 'The Londoner' (who I suspect is also Machen writing under a pen name) who argues against Machens claims of the legend coming from his imagination.
A short read, but also one of the more important ones outside of the 'Great God Pan' and 'The White People'.
Definitely worth grabbing off Project Gutenberg!
June 25, 2021
Interesting listening 🔰
Due to eye issues and damage Alexa reads to me.
A will written adventure thriller novella of different battles between the British and Germans. I would recommend this novella to anyone looking for something a little different. Enjoy the adventure of reading 📚2021
Due to eye issues and damage Alexa reads to me.
A will written adventure thriller novella of different battles between the British and Germans. I would recommend this novella to anyone looking for something a little different. Enjoy the adventure of reading 📚2021
June 9, 2016
I like this and found it informative as to the legend of the angels of Mons Very short. 3 1/2 stars. Worth your time if you are interested in the World War 1 period.
June 12, 2019
Een heel andere Arthur Machen dan ik was gewend, aangezien het dit keer om eerstewereldoorlogsverhalen ging, geschreven in WO I zelf. Wel komen er bovennatuurlijke verschijnselen en verschijningen in voor. Het is vreemd hoe Machen in deze verhalen de oorlog zowel als heroïsch strijdveld weergeeft met de Duitsers als gedehumaniseerde vijand, maar ook als een hel met verschrikkingen (stervende vrienden waarvan ledematen missen in de loopgraven).
Deze verhalenbundel heeft vooral waarde omdat The Bowmen, zoals Machen in het voorwoord en in een kort essay zelf ook bespreekt, al in zijn tijd bekend is geworden als 'urban legend' uit de eerste wereldoorlog, die toen en zelfs nu nog aanhangers kent: de Engelsen zouden een slag hebben gewonnen door hulp van Sint Joris (in het verhaal ging het eigenlijk om soldaten uit de Slag bij Azincourt van 1415).
Deze verhalenbundel heeft vooral waarde omdat The Bowmen, zoals Machen in het voorwoord en in een kort essay zelf ook bespreekt, al in zijn tijd bekend is geworden als 'urban legend' uit de eerste wereldoorlog, die toen en zelfs nu nog aanhangers kent: de Engelsen zouden een slag hebben gewonnen door hulp van Sint Joris (in het verhaal ging het eigenlijk om soldaten uit de Slag bij Azincourt van 1415).
October 21, 2019
Four very short World War I stories from the Welsh writer with an interest in the mystical.
The highlight of this brief collection is "The Bowmen", which gave birth to an enduring myth about British soldiers being aided by angelic warriors in the battlefield. The other three stories, however, are equally biased towards the supernatural, albeit with one foot firmly in the brutal real world, and (since the pamphlet was published in 1915) giving a vivid sense of a nation in the grip of desperation at a time of conflict.
Eloquently written, this is a fascinating time capsule.
The highlight of this brief collection is "The Bowmen", which gave birth to an enduring myth about British soldiers being aided by angelic warriors in the battlefield. The other three stories, however, are equally biased towards the supernatural, albeit with one foot firmly in the brutal real world, and (since the pamphlet was published in 1915) giving a vivid sense of a nation in the grip of desperation at a time of conflict.
Eloquently written, this is a fascinating time capsule.
March 20, 2021
Historierne er rimelig gode, men er desværre præget af en problematisk nationalistisk propaganda hvor tyskerne fremstilles som bestialske mens briterne er helte. Meget interesant er tilgengæld forordet hvor det beskrives hvordan mange troede at den fiktive historie/novelle om spøgelser og mirakler der kæmpede i krigen, var sande historier og hvordan mange nægtede at acceptere det når forfatteren til historien fortalte dem at det var ren fiktion.
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December 30, 2024I don't know if I can honestly rate this, as it's more important as a piece of history than literature. With that said, I always giggle at ghost stories from this point in history, since they tend to focus so much on build up, then finish a story unceremoniously: e.g. "he shrieked. Then he died." Beyond that, this is a great first person report from WW1 British mythology that would be incorporated into propaganda.
December 5, 2021
A small collection of short stories dealing with mystic phenomena on the battlefields of WWI. There's both a introduction and postscript by the author musing over the growing belief that his fiction was documentation of actual phenomena.
February 26, 2026
Four folkloric wartime stories; the highlights of this collection are Machen’s bemused essays about how he accidentally created a modern myth when his very fictional story “The Bowman” began being repeated as fact.
November 13, 2022
Introduction by Arthur Machen ✔
The Bowmen 3⭐
The Soldiers' Rest 2⭐
The Monstrance 4⭐
The Dazzling Light 2⭐
The Bowmen and Other Noble Ghosts by "The Londoner" 2.5⭐
Postscript ✔
The Bowmen 3⭐
The Soldiers' Rest 2⭐
The Monstrance 4⭐
The Dazzling Light 2⭐
The Bowmen and Other Noble Ghosts by "The Londoner" 2.5⭐
Postscript ✔
August 10, 2024
This is the worst of Machen’s work, that I’ve ever read! I guess it was made for boosting wartime WW1 morale?
July 4, 2014
Okay, so what is good about this book isn't actually the book itself. It's the introduction. I'm not kidding you. I found the story mediocre, but the introduction was incredibly amusing. Basically, what happened was that Arthur Machen wrote a story in which a saint helps England win the war. It's fiction. Well written fiction, but clearly published as fiction. But people really like believing this story. It happens to confirm both their patriotism and fulfill their longing for the supernatural. So what happens? Preachers start referring to the story as a real historical event. Witnesses emerge spontaneously (albeit all anonymously)and endless variations of the story are published in occult magazines. This book is basically the story of that one time Arthur Machen accidentally created a modern myth despite a lot of effort to stop this. Obviously, I loved it.
August 12, 2014
One of my favorite aspects of reading this collection of WW1 stories was actually the introduction by the author. I thought it illustrated wonderfully how a single work -- even a short story that the writer had been disappointed by -- could get away from them and become something much larger on its own, even becoming a legend in the author's own time, once the public got a hold of it.
July 18, 2015
I was excited to read "The Bowmen" after it was referenced in Thomas Ligotti's non-fiction, and after hearing of the myth set in motion by the story. The effect of the ghostly archers making their appearance is pretty chilling, but the story is very short and shallow, along with the other related tales. Not that brevity is a bad thing, but I was hoping for a little more. Worth checking out.
March 25, 2014
The story itself was ok, the 'false document' is a style that agrees with the author.
But what was amazing to me is the real story behind the publication of the fictional story.
All in all, it is short, I recommend it to all.
But what was amazing to me is the real story behind the publication of the fictional story.
All in all, it is short, I recommend it to all.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews