The Soul of Lilith

by Marie Corelli

The Soul of Lilith is a novel written by Marie Corelli, a renowned British author of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The book tells the story of Lilith, a beautiful and mysterious woman who is believed to be a witch by the people of a small village in England. Lilith is seen as a threat to the community, and the villagers try to drive her away. However, a young man named Aubrey Leigh becomes fascinated by Lilith and is drawn into her world of magic and mystery. As Aubrey learns more about Lilith's past, he discovers that she is not what she seems and that her true nature is far more complex than he ever imagined. The novel explores themes of love, redemption, and the power of the human spirit to overcome adversity. With its lush descriptions of the English countryside and its vivid characters, The Soul of Lilith is a captivating and thought-provoking read that will appeal to fans of Gothic literature and romantic fiction.The following story is simply the account of a strange and daring experiment once actually attempted, and is offered to those who are interested in the unseen possibilities of the hereafter, merely for what it is�������a single episode in the life of a man who voluntarily sacrificed his whole worldly career in a supreme effort to prove the apparently unprovable.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

Genres: Fiction, Gothic, British Literature, Classics, Victorian

Paperback

First published January 1, 1892

About the author

Marie Corelli (born Mary Mackay) was a best-selling British novelist of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, whose controversial works of the time often label her as an early advocate of the New Age movement.

In the 1890’s Marie Corelli’s novels were eagerly devoured by millions in England, America and the colonies. Her readers ranged from Queen Victoria and Gladstone, to the poorest of shop girls. In all she wrote thirty books, the majority of which were phenomenal best sellers. Despite the fact that her novels were either ignored or belittled by the critics, at the height of her success she was the best selling and most highly paid author in England.

She was the daughter of poet, journalist, author, anthologist, novelist, and songwriter Charles Mackay. Her brother was the poet Eric Mackay.

Reviews

[Lisa Marie Gabriel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given an antique copy of this amazing story by a very dear friend. There is nothing new in Gothic literature of course and, here again, there is a precedent for the story in The Facts of the Case of M. Valdemar by Edgar Allen Poe, which was mischievously published in 1845 without the tag of fiction. In other words, a hoax, which Poe admitted, but many people continued to believe such a thing could actually happen. If you remember, M Valdemar had TB and asked to be hypnotised at the moment of death, after seven months, he was asked a series of questions which he attempted to answer with great physical difficulty. This was described in the most horrifying terms concluding with a heartfelt plea to be put back to sleep or woken up. On waking, he cried "Dead! Dead!" and fell back, decaying immediately and horribly. This story influenced authors as diverse as Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Rudyard Kipling - and, not least, Marie Corelli. So, be prewarned, there is horror in this.

First, the language in this is beautiful, no shortage of description, adjectives, adverbs, long sentences, long words, back story, telling not showing, and all the things we authors are told not to do. For some, it might be hard to get into the story as it starts slowly but once into it, it doesn't let you put it down. Secondly, this has all the elements of Greek tragedy, a hero, a heroine, a mystical sleeping beauty, a beautiful youth, great hubris and a crushing defeat at the end which leaves the hero humbled and destroyed. Thirdly, it is so very nineteenth century in its scientific speculation, laughably so to our modern minds, but it is entertaining.

You may feel, as I did, that El-Rami is a dreadful man, arrogant, misogynistic, deluded, willful, domineering and very much a product of his era. He is not just misogynistic though, he is just as hard on his own sex and that makes his downfall the more poignant. He rodomontades his way through life, shows off his powers of deduction and "prophecy", is bossy with his lovely brother Feraz and grumpy housekeeper Zaroba - and claims to possess the ability to raise the dead, which brings about "the experiment". His "work" is sacrosanct, but horrifying, and like the flawed heroes of Greek tragedy it is through this hubris that he is destroyed and loses everything. Meanwhile there is much of philosophy and discussion that does not drive the story, but gives it an interesting veneer that helps us appreciate its Victorian setting.

So, if you tire of modern tales that are all show, no tell, no substance other than basic fast moving plot, and, of course, the stripped down language that goes with the modern novel, you might well enjoy, nay, love this gothic romance. However, you might also spare a grateful thought for Edgar Allen Poe who, once again, pioneered a genre for others, like Corelli and Kipling, to follow.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found a copy of this in Paris, normally I don't buy English books in France but it was such a lovely old edition, and one I'd not seen for sale in England that I decided to get it (and a copy of the Mighty Atom which the seller also had). I thoroughly enjoyed this. It reminded me how much I've missed reading Marie Corelli's books and how I should read them more. She has such a beautiful style and her characters are like none you find in any other books. They are always a bit larger than life, and have such a wonderful way of saying things. I don't agree with all of her philosophy and religion, but despite that I find her books a joy to read.

This one was about a very clever occultist who had little time for most of humanity. He had saved a young girl and though she had died he kept her body functioning so he could send her soul places to investigate unearthly realms for him. The plot was mostly philosophical discussions on the nature of reality, love and the soul, between him and the people he came in contact with, his brother, his old woman servant and a few of the rich nobility. Marie Corelli's self character was once again in evident, the young beautiful woman writer whom everyone hated because she was too clever. She has some absolutely wonderful discussions about the way men treat women and the way that society wants women to behave that I think are just as true now as they were just over a hundred years ago.

I loved this book, I shall have to read the other two books I have by her soon and then buy some more. I thought I'd read nearly everything she wrote, but abebooks has at least 5 books of hers I've not read so much make an effort to read them before they disappear again.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marie Corelli published “The Soul of Lilith” in 1892, her sixth novel in just seven years. This novel fits in well with her Heliobas stories, though he is not a character here. There are many similarities, including the main character, El-Râmi Zarânos, who plays the role of the man who needs proof, taking the role that Theos Alwyn played in “Ardath”. Many of the speeches made by both sides of the question could easily fit in either book as well. One key difference is that unlike Theos Alwyn, El-Râmi refuses to accept anything on faith until there is a tragic event. Overall this book lacks the wonderfully imaginative second section, but it does contain some interesting points which prevent it from becoming completely redundant.

The novel opens with the introduction of El-Râmi who has arrived during a production of “Hamlet”. El-Râmi is at the height of his strength at this time, as he pursues the course of science. He demonstrated his ability to logically deduce future events when he tells Sir Frederick Vaughan that he will be introduced to a Miss Idina Chester before the evening is out and that he will propose to her within a month and that they will be married. El-Râmi is a man from the Orient, though in the days in which this novel was written, the Orient referred to the near East and North Africa, and not the far East as it does today. Along with El-Râmi , there is his brother Féraz, an older woman Zaroba, and the body of Lilith, which El-Râmi has kept alive through an elixir he has created scientifically. El-Râmi is able to talk with the spirit of Lilith through the body he has kept alive. Lilith died when she was 12-years old, but the body has aged and is now that of a young woman. The exploration of the divide between the physical and spiritual world is a common theme in Corelli’s works, but the use of a being on the edge between the two is a new twist from the territory she has covered before. The first volume shows us the dominance that El-Râmi has over all the character’s lives, and it ends with a visit from a monk from Cyprus who plays the role of the all-knowing man of faith, similar to that of Heliobas in some of Corelli’s other stories. El-Râmi is on the verge of showing the monk his great experiment with Lilith at the close of the volume.

Volume two picks up where one left off, with the monk witnessing El-Râmi’s work, though he was already well aware of it. As is often the case with this type of character in Corelli’s books, he provides warnings and clues to the future which the reader picks up on, but of course El-Râmi is by no means convinced of their validity. In particular the “Master” tells El-Râmi that Love will be the force which releases her soul which he has chained through his scientific means, and he warns El-Râmi that he is on the verge of darkness. Even when the monk helps El-Râmi see a Messenger of God, El-Râmi decides it was a trick, though initially it does cause him to lose consciousness. Much of the rest of the volume deals with El-Râmi allowing Féraz to experience the real world from which he has sheltered him for so long. Féraz takes a different course than El-Râmi though, as the horrible behavior of the people he meets reinforces his faith and his character. Also in this volume is much more detail about the scientist Kremlin and his experiments which El-Râmi is helping him. The tragedy at the end of Kremlin’s experiment foreshadows that at the end of El-Râmi’s in volume three. The volume ends with El-Râmi alone with Lilith on the verge of admitting his feelings.

Volume three opens with Lilith telling El-Râmi to wait. He does so for a while, but eventually he has to force the issue, he cannot wait any longer. When forced to choose between the beautiful spirit and her beautiful body, he is unable to let the body go. The story has a tragic end for El-Râmi in one way, though in some ways he is freed from his doubt in the end, and perhaps his final days were the happiest he had ever known. Féraz is able to survive quite well, and finds the life he needed to have with the monks on Cyprus.

This book does have some new ideas and new twists in it, but it is a bit too similar to her previous works “A Romance of Two Worlds”, and “Ardath” for me to give it a higher rating. Thus far Corelli has only shown a couple of types of works, those which deal with the conflict between faith and science, which to some extent one can add “Thelma” to this and the works already mentioned; and then there are those works which deal with the idea of vengeance for which she wrote “Vendetta!” and “Wormwood”. It is the spiritual men from the East who she favors in her novels, and European societies are viewed as decadent, though there are a few good people caught up in the decadence.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

So well written, it was a pleasure to read even if I did not understand or accept the thinking of the main character.
This was a very difficult book to rate. Not a fast read, had to take my time reading it. The fact that the author died not long after she finished it, made it seem more , I do not know, more serious, less waco, but do not get me wrong, this book was OUT THERE WACO.
is infinity possible, is not the pursuit of knowledge infinite

[Debora Klippel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eu achava que não conhecia a Marie Corelli antes de ler esse livro.
Mas ao mergulhar na história, percebi que a forma envolvente como ela escreve o nível de detalhismo para comentar cada personagem ou cena, os assuntos filosóficos sobre amor e espiritualidade realmente me parecem mais próximos do que podia imaginar.

"História do exótico El Rami Zarâno, muito culto, viajado e conhecedor das iniciações do antigo Egito. Em uma viagem encontra Lilith, uma menina a beira da morte, e resolve manter seu corpo em funcionamento para buscar, através do domínio de sua alma respostas para tudo aquilo que ele não acredita, como a existência de Deus, a vida após a morte, o amor e de outras questões filosóficas. Solitário, vive com seu irmão e servo Feraz que é mantido sob sua influência mental. Considera a grande maioria das mulheres um ser inferior, incapaz de inteligência e bondade."