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Aleister Crowley - The Biography: Spiritual Revolutionary, Romantic Explorer, Occult Master and Spy
This definitive biography of Aleister Crowley (1875 - 1947), the most notorious and controversial spiritual figure of the 20th century, brings together a life of world-shaking 'magick', sexual and psychological experimentation at the outer limits, world-record-beating mountaineering and startling prophetic power - as well as poetry, adventure, espionage, wisdom, excess, and intellectual brilliance.
The book reveals the man behind the appalling reputation, demolishing a century of scandalmongering that persuaded the world that Crowley was a black magician, a traitor and a sexual wastrel, addicted to drugs and antisocial posing, rather than the mind-blowing truth that Crowley was a genius as significant as Jung, Freud or Einstein. Churton has enjoyed the full co-operation of the world's Crowley scholars to ensure the accuracy and plausibility of his riveting narrative. The author has also been in contact with Crowley's grandson, who has vouchsafed rare, previously untold accounts of family relationships. The result is an intimate portrait that has never before been shown, and one that has great emotional impact.
The book contains the first ever complete investigation of Crowley's astonishing family background - including facts he concealed in his lifetime for fear of social prejudice. Tobias Churton also gives us a detailed account of Crowley's work as a British spy during World War I in Berlin during the early 1930s and during World War II. This information has not been available to any previous biographer.
The book reveals the man behind the appalling reputation, demolishing a century of scandalmongering that persuaded the world that Crowley was a black magician, a traitor and a sexual wastrel, addicted to drugs and antisocial posing, rather than the mind-blowing truth that Crowley was a genius as significant as Jung, Freud or Einstein. Churton has enjoyed the full co-operation of the world's Crowley scholars to ensure the accuracy and plausibility of his riveting narrative. The author has also been in contact with Crowley's grandson, who has vouchsafed rare, previously untold accounts of family relationships. The result is an intimate portrait that has never before been shown, and one that has great emotional impact.
The book contains the first ever complete investigation of Crowley's astonishing family background - including facts he concealed in his lifetime for fear of social prejudice. Tobias Churton also gives us a detailed account of Crowley's work as a British spy during World War I in Berlin during the early 1930s and during World War II. This information has not been available to any previous biographer.
496 pages, Hardcover
First published January 9, 2011
46 people are currently reading
382 people want to read
About the author
Tobias Churton
47 books75 followersTobias Churton is a filmmaker and the founding editor of the magazine "Freemasonry Today". He studied theology at Oxford University and created the award-winning documentary series and accompanying book The Gnostics, as well as several other films on Christian doctrine, mysticism, and magical folklore, such as "A Mighty Good Man" (2002), a documentary on Elias Ashmole, his religious ideas and Masonic initiation in 1646. He is currently a lecturer on Freemasonry at the Exeter Centre for the Study of Esotericism, Exeter University. He lives in England.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
November 15, 2014
Great biography can only issue from two people: the clear-headed honesty of the admirer (Edmund Morris' Theodore Roosevelt biography trilogy is a great example of this), or from the unclouded hatred of a detractor (any Hitler biography worth the paper it is written on).
Tobias Churton is neither of these.
Instead, one gets the sensation that Churton does not merely admire Crowley, and does not merely worship Crowley, but actively wishes he could be Crowley himself in all his satanic glory and black magic influence. He waxes poetic on every aspect of Crowley's life and influence with the desperate rush to be the man he writes about.
This could be forgivable. But then Churton commits the unforgivable crime of biography: ignorance.
He's so ignorant of the world that he falls prey to an event that never happened. I don't mean that he chooses to believe something Crowley believed was real; instead, he writes at length on "The East African Accord." Supposedly, in 1926, France and England nearly went to war over a border dispute between French's territory on the western border of Egypt and England's hold on Egypt. Crowley was, of course, fairly intimately involved. Only one problem: France has never had a territory just to the west of Egypt, and "The East African Accord" is wholly fictional. The whole account emerges from an alternate history fiction site--I'm quite serious: take a moment to Google "The East African Accord" and you'll find where Churton found this story--and, apparently, neither Churton nor his editors checked the source or the story.
Churton knows nothing about the Bible, and nothing about its composition or study. His every mention of it is a failing rant that left this reader stunned that, no where along the line or production, no editor caught these errors and amended a footnote. Churton's comparison of the beasts from Ezekiel and the beast from Revelation is not only insipid, but ignorant. The world Crowley lived in seems poorly researched. Churton knows a great deal about Crowley, in the way a young man knows everything about the girl he secretly admires, and this is the one redeeming feature of the book. He focused on the "who" over the "what."
If I must say something positive about this book, it was quite the thrill to know that G.K. Chesterton, the apostle of common sense, rode to literary war against the great beast of letters. But, alas, there are no more than a handful of sentences scattered throughout the text on this subject. And, moreover, we only ever hear pieces of Crowley's retorts and never, not once, any of Chesterton's cannonades. I wonder if this is because Chesterton, in the world outside Churton's love letter, demolished Crowley's forts just as he demolished so many others. I wonder if this is because Chesterton, with paradoxes and logic, dismantled all of Crowley's books. I wonder if this is because, if these wars were given their dues we would see Crowley in a light his biographer cannot bear.
My only regret is that I received this book from the library, and therefore paid nothing. In a just world, the author would have paid me to sit through his book.
Tobias Churton is neither of these.
Instead, one gets the sensation that Churton does not merely admire Crowley, and does not merely worship Crowley, but actively wishes he could be Crowley himself in all his satanic glory and black magic influence. He waxes poetic on every aspect of Crowley's life and influence with the desperate rush to be the man he writes about.
This could be forgivable. But then Churton commits the unforgivable crime of biography: ignorance.
He's so ignorant of the world that he falls prey to an event that never happened. I don't mean that he chooses to believe something Crowley believed was real; instead, he writes at length on "The East African Accord." Supposedly, in 1926, France and England nearly went to war over a border dispute between French's territory on the western border of Egypt and England's hold on Egypt. Crowley was, of course, fairly intimately involved. Only one problem: France has never had a territory just to the west of Egypt, and "The East African Accord" is wholly fictional. The whole account emerges from an alternate history fiction site--I'm quite serious: take a moment to Google "The East African Accord" and you'll find where Churton found this story--and, apparently, neither Churton nor his editors checked the source or the story.
Churton knows nothing about the Bible, and nothing about its composition or study. His every mention of it is a failing rant that left this reader stunned that, no where along the line or production, no editor caught these errors and amended a footnote. Churton's comparison of the beasts from Ezekiel and the beast from Revelation is not only insipid, but ignorant. The world Crowley lived in seems poorly researched. Churton knows a great deal about Crowley, in the way a young man knows everything about the girl he secretly admires, and this is the one redeeming feature of the book. He focused on the "who" over the "what."
If I must say something positive about this book, it was quite the thrill to know that G.K. Chesterton, the apostle of common sense, rode to literary war against the great beast of letters. But, alas, there are no more than a handful of sentences scattered throughout the text on this subject. And, moreover, we only ever hear pieces of Crowley's retorts and never, not once, any of Chesterton's cannonades. I wonder if this is because Chesterton, in the world outside Churton's love letter, demolished Crowley's forts just as he demolished so many others. I wonder if this is because Chesterton, with paradoxes and logic, dismantled all of Crowley's books. I wonder if this is because, if these wars were given their dues we would see Crowley in a light his biographer cannot bear.
My only regret is that I received this book from the library, and therefore paid nothing. In a just world, the author would have paid me to sit through his book.
December 29, 2024
I found this biography unreadable and also boring. But then I find Crowley ridiculous and those who still revere him as absurd, the only thing about Crowley I once had an interest in was his first book of poems 'White Stains' which I wanted to read and tried to get a copy of but was put off by the enormous price it commands as a bibliographical rarity. It may now be widely available online - my interest died long before the technology was developed to bring it to a mass readership (if it has been, I can't even be bothered now to check).
To believe in Crowley you would need to believe in alchemists and the ability to transmutate metals. Or maybe that is the wrong word? But who cares? If Crowley had powers why did he live in sirdid bed sitting rooms cadging shillings for the gas meter? How anyone can believe he was a great 'occult power' with even the most limited information on his long, shiftless, sordid but mostly tawdry life in dirty and shabby Fitzrovia rooms eking out an existence selling potions and love philters to keep in cocaine and heroin, is impossible to imagine. He was not a 'monster' but a monstrous con man out to lay his hands on cash in any way to avoid work. He lied and cheated his 'followers' shamelessly. He was a joke, a huge shambling bore spouting mumbo jumbo to credulous idiots.
Also the book is full of so many absurdities that it is a classic example of the death of publishing as a serious profession rather than as a packager of nonsense.
To believe in Crowley you would need to believe in alchemists and the ability to transmutate metals. Or maybe that is the wrong word? But who cares? If Crowley had powers why did he live in sirdid bed sitting rooms cadging shillings for the gas meter? How anyone can believe he was a great 'occult power' with even the most limited information on his long, shiftless, sordid but mostly tawdry life in dirty and shabby Fitzrovia rooms eking out an existence selling potions and love philters to keep in cocaine and heroin, is impossible to imagine. He was not a 'monster' but a monstrous con man out to lay his hands on cash in any way to avoid work. He lied and cheated his 'followers' shamelessly. He was a joke, a huge shambling bore spouting mumbo jumbo to credulous idiots.
Also the book is full of so many absurdities that it is a classic example of the death of publishing as a serious profession rather than as a packager of nonsense.
July 16, 2020
At one stage Crowley began a psychedelic purging period where he was only allowed ‘lean meats, eggs, fruit, green vegetables and heroin’. At times, reading this book felt like a similar experience.
I started this over a year ago and just gave up. The constant onslaught of new names was hard to keep up with. Crowley travelled the world attracting and repelling multitudes of people as he went. It seems Churton wants to mention every single one of them.
Having eventually slogged on to finish it I’m giving this 3 stars for the sheer amount of research it packs in, even if Churton comes across as rather biased in his pro-Crowley attitude.
Having clearly taken umbrage with John Symond’s largely negative biography of Crowley, Churton cleans up the Beast 666’s life in a way that gives us a similarly unfair picture. The motivation behind Churton doing this reflects some of the unjust (and often homophobic) criticism of Crowley’s character and Thelemic principles. But by washing over much of the semen-soaked debauchery, which we have details of from Crowley’s own writings, Churton’s text left me questioning his overall reading of Crowley.
I started this over a year ago and just gave up. The constant onslaught of new names was hard to keep up with. Crowley travelled the world attracting and repelling multitudes of people as he went. It seems Churton wants to mention every single one of them.
Having eventually slogged on to finish it I’m giving this 3 stars for the sheer amount of research it packs in, even if Churton comes across as rather biased in his pro-Crowley attitude.
Having clearly taken umbrage with John Symond’s largely negative biography of Crowley, Churton cleans up the Beast 666’s life in a way that gives us a similarly unfair picture. The motivation behind Churton doing this reflects some of the unjust (and often homophobic) criticism of Crowley’s character and Thelemic principles. But by washing over much of the semen-soaked debauchery, which we have details of from Crowley’s own writings, Churton’s text left me questioning his overall reading of Crowley.
July 7, 2018
It's really amazing how an author of a biography can make every little shit detail of the subject's life seem like it was either fate or an act of a god.
Name dropping every page just so he can point out every single person who walked past Crowley on the street. At times it reads more like a whole bunch of notes on a subject (Crowley) bundled together inbetween covers.
This is a badly constructed biography which at the same time hails Crowley till the cows come home and bored me out of my mind. How's that even possible?
The beginning promised so, so much more:
"Commerce was anti-romantic. -- Beer was common. According to the diktats of temperance, its profits derived from exploitation of human weakness."
Name dropping every page just so he can point out every single person who walked past Crowley on the street. At times it reads more like a whole bunch of notes on a subject (Crowley) bundled together inbetween covers.
This is a badly constructed biography which at the same time hails Crowley till the cows come home and bored me out of my mind. How's that even possible?
The beginning promised so, so much more:
"Commerce was anti-romantic. -- Beer was common. According to the diktats of temperance, its profits derived from exploitation of human weakness."
May 9, 2013
One might have thought that with such recent and revealing biographies as "Perdurabo, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Life of Aleister Crowley" and "Secret Agent 666: Aleister Crowley, British Intelligence and the Occult," that there was little left unsaid, or undiscovered about Aleister Crowley.
One would be wrong.
In this book, the author, Tobias Churton, suprisingly grips the reader's attention in the first few chapters, revealing insights to family matters and ancestors never before brought up in any other Crowley biography, and it just gets better and better from there. Many previously uncited sources, letters, diaries, make this a most revealing biography, not just a re-hash of dirt and outrages that have been attributed to Crowley in several sordid and inaccurate sensationalist ersatz biographies. Well written, well researched, and very informative, this book reveals much of several sides of Crowley's life and personality for even the most stickeling experts of "The Master Therion."
One would be wrong.
In this book, the author, Tobias Churton, suprisingly grips the reader's attention in the first few chapters, revealing insights to family matters and ancestors never before brought up in any other Crowley biography, and it just gets better and better from there. Many previously uncited sources, letters, diaries, make this a most revealing biography, not just a re-hash of dirt and outrages that have been attributed to Crowley in several sordid and inaccurate sensationalist ersatz biographies. Well written, well researched, and very informative, this book reveals much of several sides of Crowley's life and personality for even the most stickeling experts of "The Master Therion."
May 11, 2013
An excellent biography, and a very fair one, which makes plain just what a genius the man was. This is borne out by quotes and letter extracts from the people who really knew him, giving perhaps the most accurate portrait of the Beast that has yet emerged.
It sets a few old myths straight through accounts from people who were actually there and covers matters which are often ignored, such as his relationships with his extended family and his children. Proper weight is given to the latter years of his life, which often get shorter shrift.
Excellent.
It sets a few old myths straight through accounts from people who were actually there and covers matters which are often ignored, such as his relationships with his extended family and his children. Proper weight is given to the latter years of his life, which often get shorter shrift.
Excellent.
July 23, 2012
It was thick, it was hard to read, and it didn't give me much insight into why he was the way he was. It was interesting in that I realized how little I know about the time he lived... and my understanding of world history is severely lacking.
March 20, 2024
After reading “Perdurabo” by Kaczynski, I thought I had an accurate picture of The Beast, but this book gave me a bit of a 180 degree turn in many respects. It reveals many of Kaczynski’s biases and gaps of information, but in doing so, this book provides its own gaps in the story, that are annoyingly absent when you are expecting a more in depth analysis. I guess this author chose to mainly reveal the newly found information of his spying activities that Kaczynski mostly glosses over with a sense of doubt, yet omits many of the accounts in Kaczynski that were poignant to the narrative of Crowley. I suggest reading both, but this one has excellent scholarship and a fine style that make it of great value in understanding this genius and prophet of the New Aeon of Horus.
January 18, 2012
Of all the many Crowley biographies, Churton's approach has done more to reveal the uniqueness of Crowley the person in conjunction with the uniqueness of the times and events in which he lived and reacted and impacted. The book became more enjoyable as it progressed, although a bit heavy-handed on the spying aspects (real or conjectured) of Crowley's life. A refreshing and subtle exploration of a larger-than-life yet all-too-human personality.
March 11, 2014
Starts well, but is far too long; some chapters read like a biographers unedited notes. The author assumes to much knowledge of the dark arts, and having clearly "drunk the Kool-Aid", is unable to offer any skeptical view of what is patently medieval mumbo jumbo. None of this diminishes the man himself, who was fascinating and misunderstood.
October 7, 2014
A satisfactory overview of the life and times of "The Beast," this biography does a great deal to polish up Crowley's oft-tarnished reputation. Unfortunately, the author's favorable opinion of Crowley ends up whitewashing many of his major flaws and presents a biased viewpoint. Keeping that in mind, however, this is an enjoyable read.
January 17, 2013
I found it all melted into one big lump of text, and sadly as with so many books on Crowley, there are more claims than facts, (imo) there are a lot of things claimed that seem fantacy.
I gave up on this book.
I gave up on this book.
July 25, 2017
This is a slightly tidied up version of a review I posted on Amazon a few years ago. At last The Great Beast gets the biography he deserves, well researched, well thought out and well written. Tobias Churton has shown due respect and to my mind has helped reconcile Crowley's position on the world stage. Crowley was a polymath of extraordinary talent and courage whose reputation was always tarnished with the negative ramblings of lesser minds that focused on scandal and sensationalism. Don't get me wrong The Beast was sensational and deliberatly so on many occasions, so was Johhny Rotten. However his contribution to the evolution of consciousness among other things has been sorely overlooked. Churton wisely decided not to pay too much heed to the darkness that surrounds him as this has been done many times over by other authors. He has somehow managed to bring light to bear on Crowley's achievments and dare I say exposed some of his inner beauty. Yes I did say inner beauty. For instance how dark can this man be, he was a true psychedelic and was experimenting with meascaline well before Aldous Huxley gave us the Doors of Perception, it is rumoured that he was the one to turn Huxley on. No wonder he's a Rock & Roll hero, he deserves his place on the cover of Sgt Peppers. He was also having the likes of Hedy Lamarr and Christopher Isherwood over for dinner and no doubt influenced other great minds of his generation. To his detracters I put this question, by what criteria do you judge this man's life to be a failure? Konx Om Pax means light in extension and his light is still extending, no small achievment. Tobias Churton you have done your job well.
May 3, 2019
I came to this knowing only Crowley’s reputation, and thought I could learn a lot more.
I did from this book, and it reset my thoughts on the clearly maligned Crowley. But, and there is a but, this is dry, very factual, detailed, but dry.
There’s so much material here, and such fascinating facts, but they’re buried in, what I found, a desert of prose.
It’s reset my views on the subject, and given me a taste of the man/Beast, but didn’t satisfy fully.
I did from this book, and it reset my thoughts on the clearly maligned Crowley. But, and there is a but, this is dry, very factual, detailed, but dry.
There’s so much material here, and such fascinating facts, but they’re buried in, what I found, a desert of prose.
It’s reset my views on the subject, and given me a taste of the man/Beast, but didn’t satisfy fully.
October 28, 2020
It appears that The Beast, The Most Dangerous Man Alive, of one era is nothing more evil than your average Silverlake resident of the current era. He liked smoking dope and sucking some dick and was an above-average mountain climber. He tried very hard to be a spy and maybe he was. Not exactly the embodiment of evil today, though in more Christian times he must have seemed like a specter. A life worth examining, nevertheless.
Read
February 15, 2022I only made it through 60 or so pages.
As others have noted, this is all over the place and feels like a bunch of unedited notes which already assume the reader’s familiarity with the subject rather than a coherent biography. I found it largely impenetrable.
As others have noted, this is all over the place and feels like a bunch of unedited notes which already assume the reader’s familiarity with the subject rather than a coherent biography. I found it largely impenetrable.
my-library
December 27, 2015Some nuggets of information, but overall a quite messy and badly edited book. Definitely not the "end all" biography heralded by the blurb...
May 8, 2023
This was a slog, and in parts frustrating as the degree to which the author is a fan gradually appears.
It became a kind of court list of who Crowley met, fought with, had sex with, a bland list of names and places with little analysis of what was actually happening and despite the diaries being quoted a very modest amount of insight into what was going on. No discussion of the realities of the magick or indeed comment on the impact Crowley had on those he seems to use for his endeavours.
I was particularly interested in his children and their mothers, but little is said. Perhaps as an effort to avoid expressing any judgment, little is said about the nitty gritty of his behaviour and its impact, this eventually becomes very reductive and he no longer has any context or motivation evident, only his desire to elevate humanity? But this is never analysed or examined critically.
It feels like little is subject to critique, even by the benign eye of a devotee, which, for all his brilliant original thought and mythical achievement, he definitely required.
In view of his legacy as it now appears this account reads startlingly bald and with little analysis.
It became a kind of court list of who Crowley met, fought with, had sex with, a bland list of names and places with little analysis of what was actually happening and despite the diaries being quoted a very modest amount of insight into what was going on. No discussion of the realities of the magick or indeed comment on the impact Crowley had on those he seems to use for his endeavours.
I was particularly interested in his children and their mothers, but little is said. Perhaps as an effort to avoid expressing any judgment, little is said about the nitty gritty of his behaviour and its impact, this eventually becomes very reductive and he no longer has any context or motivation evident, only his desire to elevate humanity? But this is never analysed or examined critically.
It feels like little is subject to critique, even by the benign eye of a devotee, which, for all his brilliant original thought and mythical achievement, he definitely required.
In view of his legacy as it now appears this account reads startlingly bald and with little analysis.
October 8, 2023
Churton's exposition of events is often so murky and confusing that I had to check him against Lawrence Sutin's Do What Thou Wilt: A Biography of Aleister Crowley in order to determine what was actually happening. It does not help that Churton's attitude to his subject is one of cringing adoration (e.g. "Right again, Mr. Crowley! But then, Crowley's brain was not as other men's. . . ." p. 284); I noticed many of Crowley's discreditable actions and writings cited by Sutin are absent from Churton's book.
On the plus side, Churton had access to Crowley's unpublished writings and he does quote some piquant letters and diary entries. His argument that Crowley was a secret agent, carried over from Richard Spence's book, strikes me as highly speculative and very improbable.
On the whole, if you want to read only one Crowley biography, Sutin is vastly preferable to Churton: he is more balanced and lucid and conveys much more information.
On the plus side, Churton had access to Crowley's unpublished writings and he does quote some piquant letters and diary entries. His argument that Crowley was a secret agent, carried over from Richard Spence's book, strikes me as highly speculative and very improbable.
On the whole, if you want to read only one Crowley biography, Sutin is vastly preferable to Churton: he is more balanced and lucid and conveys much more information.
January 3, 2022
I felt compelled to read this book. I have not read a biography for years. However, Crowley's life is not normal, and he is a unique individual. Was Crowley a hedonist or an epicurean?
Mentally abused in his early life, this version of Crowley's life offers insight into his struggles in life. I think an understanding of the Masons, Rosicrucians, and other secret organizations during this period would help the knowledge of his life. How did he see the purpose of his life? Regardless of his tastes and what some call debauchery, he was a famous personality. It is a book worth exploring.
Mentally abused in his early life, this version of Crowley's life offers insight into his struggles in life. I think an understanding of the Masons, Rosicrucians, and other secret organizations during this period would help the knowledge of his life. How did he see the purpose of his life? Regardless of his tastes and what some call debauchery, he was a famous personality. It is a book worth exploring.
January 3, 2023
sparkling, golden, effervescent
a lovely book - reading some passages felt like sipping champagne - with an unusually tender, sensitive perspective on its subject
frankly, with all due respect to mr. churton, I'm not sure quite how much of it to believe, but it is beautifully written and the nature of the subject matter is such that I doubt whether there are many particularly less biased sources available
a lovely book - reading some passages felt like sipping champagne - with an unusually tender, sensitive perspective on its subject
frankly, with all due respect to mr. churton, I'm not sure quite how much of it to believe, but it is beautifully written and the nature of the subject matter is such that I doubt whether there are many particularly less biased sources available
November 22, 2025
Needs rigorous editing - too many details
This biography reads more like research notes than a biography. It's dense with names and details to the point of being difficult to follow. It appears to be well researched and with more rigorous editing could be much more palatable to a broader audience. As someone who came to this book with a mild curiosity about Crowley, I really didn't need all the names and details of the multitude of interactions he had.
This biography reads more like research notes than a biography. It's dense with names and details to the point of being difficult to follow. It appears to be well researched and with more rigorous editing could be much more palatable to a broader audience. As someone who came to this book with a mild curiosity about Crowley, I really didn't need all the names and details of the multitude of interactions he had.
Read
August 3, 2025Started, but decided not to finish. I found it a really difficult read, written in a particularly unreadable style that isn't for me.
I would normally push through to the end regardless, but I read some reviews outlining how difficult it is, and, in particular, the lack of robust research and factual rigour from the author.
One of a very short list of books I haven't finished.
I would normally push through to the end regardless, but I read some reviews outlining how difficult it is, and, in particular, the lack of robust research and factual rigour from the author.
One of a very short list of books I haven't finished.
Read
April 25, 2015#003.05 SIMEON: This sounds like something out of "Gravity's Rainbow". p. 379 "In May 1940, as the 'outsider', the man 'too dangerous' became PM, Karl Germer was deported from Belgium and interned in France. The Germans advanced, the British evacuated Dunkirk in June and the country braced itself. Crowley contacted the Ministry of Information: 'Saw Sunday Dispatch Girl Friday. Stuart of Ministry of Information was there. Submitted England, Stand Fast with a little lecture.' Despite the patriotic objective, Crowley's sex magick skills, at age 64, were under attack:
Ruby Butler, the blond bombshell, to lunch.
@ Weak erection. Too rapid ejaculation. Very feeble concentration: could not formulate purpose.
Purpose. The lesson was not lost on him. Britain also needed to 'get it up'. As Luftwaffe bombers boiled the autumn skies, an idea grew in his mind, even as his health suffered. Bombing aggravated his asthma.
Torquay, scene of teenage liberation, was chosen for recuperation. There was a downside - 9 October 1940: 'Nerves on edge for lack of cunt.' He dreamt of Greta Sequeira at a big hill station in India. While Crowley made love to the Greta of his dreams, Liverpool was blitzed and John Winston Lennon entered this world.
On 16 November the worst asthma attack in memory put him in hospital. Struggling for life, Frieda rushed to his bedside. A few days later, Dr RH Lodge pronounced him recovered, advising a trip to the USA: just what Crowley wanted. But he needed money and a passport. Sex magick with new girl Sophie Burt aimed to secure the former. Cammell considered 666's recovery smacked of resurrection. 666 was thinking of national resurrection. He would devise a militant aphrodisiac, or, as he put it: a 'Magical "Union of Men" to beat Nazis': a 'symbol to bring victory'.
He hit on the idea of the 'V-sign'. 'V [is] for Valentine [sexual love] and Victory', he wrote.
Ruby Butler, the blond bombshell, to lunch.
@ Weak erection. Too rapid ejaculation. Very feeble concentration: could not formulate purpose.
Purpose. The lesson was not lost on him. Britain also needed to 'get it up'. As Luftwaffe bombers boiled the autumn skies, an idea grew in his mind, even as his health suffered. Bombing aggravated his asthma.
Torquay, scene of teenage liberation, was chosen for recuperation. There was a downside - 9 October 1940: 'Nerves on edge for lack of cunt.' He dreamt of Greta Sequeira at a big hill station in India. While Crowley made love to the Greta of his dreams, Liverpool was blitzed and John Winston Lennon entered this world.
On 16 November the worst asthma attack in memory put him in hospital. Struggling for life, Frieda rushed to his bedside. A few days later, Dr RH Lodge pronounced him recovered, advising a trip to the USA: just what Crowley wanted. But he needed money and a passport. Sex magick with new girl Sophie Burt aimed to secure the former. Cammell considered 666's recovery smacked of resurrection. 666 was thinking of national resurrection. He would devise a militant aphrodisiac, or, as he put it: a 'Magical "Union of Men" to beat Nazis': a 'symbol to bring victory'.
He hit on the idea of the 'V-sign'. 'V [is] for Valentine [sexual love] and Victory', he wrote.
February 1, 2017
The life of one of history's most notorious esoteric figures glides off the pages in this biography, detailing without reservation the best and worst parts of the man and the legend he built around himself.
While there's no doubt in my mind that he achieved most of what he boasted throughout his life, a healthy dose of scepticism should be taken when it comes to some of his more grandiose claims. Without having been there, it's impossible to verify the truth of such things, but I like to believe that there's much more to Crowley than could ever truly be revealed.
While there's no doubt in my mind that he achieved most of what he boasted throughout his life, a healthy dose of scepticism should be taken when it comes to some of his more grandiose claims. Without having been there, it's impossible to verify the truth of such things, but I like to believe that there's much more to Crowley than could ever truly be revealed.
June 3, 2025
The author does a great job of guiding the reader in and out of 'the legend' into a rewarding appreciation of this extraordinary individual. The research revealed is remarkable but Churton's greatest strength is in giving context of a man who tested the limits of his own radically changing times. In addition to conveying the extremes and paradoxes of his subject's thoughts and practices, the author showcases insights from contemporaries.
November 11, 2013
After reading a few Crowley bios and finding them either biased totally against AC or so fundamentally packed with minute facts and detail, that they became daunting or frankly dull, I was somewhat surprised by this gem. Well written from excellent (and purportedly previously unpublished) sources I think that this is one of (if not the) finest example of a Crowley biography out there.
March 5, 2013
Second attempt at reading this biography. I cant believe I am saying this but it is too complete (and I read Chernow), too much magic, too much to stop reading and research. Almost have to know the material already to read.
April 3, 2016
I love biographies, and I had much higher hopes for this one. I had trouble staying focused with the writing style, and it seemed a bit biased. Still, I'll give it two stars instead of one; I did learn a few things from the read.
December 17, 2011
Just not up to par with Perdurabo.
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