The Greater Trumps [Paperback]

Charles Williams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2003

Charles Williams had a genius for choosing strange and exciting themes for his novels and making them believable and profoundly suggestive of spiritual truths. The Tarot pack, the ancestor of all playing cards, is first mentioned in history in 1393; the origin of the deck is not known. Tradition has it that the gypsies brought the Tarot from Egypt and that the cards were used for fortune telling. This deck was conceived of as having magical properties, and the most powerful of all the cards were the Magic Arcana or Greater Trumps, twenty-two symbolic pictures whose mysteries have been interpreted and reinterpreted not only by occultists, but also by religious thinkers, psychoanalysts and literary anthropologists. Perhaps the most exquisite of these interpretations is the one contained in this extraordinary novel. In the universe evoked by Charles Williams, sorcery can still kill, and the supernatural must be fought with the supernatural. But beneath the brilliant and imaginative surface is concealed a meticulously thought-out Christian message. Charles Williams-novelist, poet, critic, dramatist and biographer-died in his native England in May, 1945. He had a lively and devoted following there and achieved a considerable reputation as a lecturer on the faculty of Oxford University. T.S. Eliot, Dorothy Sayers and C.S. Lewis were among his distinguished friends and literary sponsors.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Charles Williams—novelist, poet, critic, dramatist and biographer—died in his native England in May, 1945. He had a lively and devoted following there and achieved a considerable reputation as a lecturer on the faculty of Oxford University. T. S. Eliot, Dorothy Sayers and C. S. Lewis were among his distinguished friends and literary sponsors. He was also a member of the Inklings, a group of Christian writers that included J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Regent College Publishing (April 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573831115
• ISBN-13: 978-1573831116
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #610,660 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Knowledge of the Fool & The Everlasting Dance, August 30, 2004

By 

Nigel Jackson "'Nigromancer'" (Adocentyn) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Greater Trumps (Paperback)

Over the years I have read and re-read this 1932 novel by Charles Williams many times - it continues to fascinate me, exerts a peculiar hold upon my mind and provides unfailing stimulus for thought and contemplation (it is undoubtedly the most readable and entertaining of his works of fiction). 'The Greater Trumps' is a very strange sort of novel, a mystical thriller if you like, featuring the prototypal deck of Tarot cards which has by odd chance fallen into the hands of the prosaic and unimaginative Mr.Coninsgby. His daughter Nancy is being wooed by a young lawyer of Gypsy descent, Henry Lee and when he sees the deck the spiritual drama begins and the Coningsby's are invited to spend Christmas at the lonely house of Henry Lee's grandfather Aaron Lee who guards the secret inheritance of the Romanies and has long sought the innermost mysteries of the Tarot. A conspiracy to ruthlessly obtain the Tarots at all costs is afoot and here we have a central theme of Charles Williams' novels - the intended profaning of a sacred Mystery by those who would abuse it for ego-aggrandizement and the quest for personal power. In 'The Greater Trumps' the classic tarot figure of 'The Falling Tower' is the symbol of the fate which invariably engulfs those who attempt to lay hold of the Holy Mysteries of Magic to satisfy the all-too-egoic thirst for power and ascendancy and this timeless message is as pertinent as ever in an age where debased occultism of questionable motivation is all too prevalent. Henry and Aaron Lee's dark quest to wrest the Tarots from Mr Coningsby and murder him unwittingly unleashes primal powers which are entirely beyond their ability to control - for the archetypal potencies of the Divine World cannot be controlled or manipulated by the unworthy for their own ends and the attempt to do so cannot be made with impunity: thus the novel builds up to a compelling denouement which is also a transfiguring and mystical meditation upon the all-prevailing power of pure love...
The characterization in this novel is quite superb, from the romantic high spirits of Nancy, the faustian ambition of Henry Lee and the sublime equanimity of Aunt Sybil who amongst all the characters has truly attained to a high degree of spiritual freedom and thus plays a pivotal role: Sybil's selfless and calm wisdom contrasts strikingly with the hubristic greed of the magical 'adepts'. The dialogue is period 1930's and thus possess a charm all of it's own and the plot is superbly realised.
But skilfully woven through this brilliant and cautionary tale of young love, unlawful lust for power, satires on conventional mindedness and supernatural high jinks is an extended esoteric meditation upon the emblems of the Tarot as timeless Mysteries of Power, Images, Divine Ideas, Virtues and eternal Platonic Forms which is uniquely insightful, penetrating and unparalleled in its profundity. The suggestive concepts concerning Tarot which Williams imparts throughout are truly extraordinary. This beautifully-written novel conveys an exciting narrative which is at the same time a penetrating moral exploration of man's spiritual motivations and inner relation to the sacred. I consider 'The Greater Trumps' to be Charles Williams' little-known fictional masterpiece, an occult novel of rare brilliance.

23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A story of quietly enveloping spiritual enlightenment, February 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Greater Trumps (Paperback)

It takes but a short time to realize that we are in an era when 'daily work' is not true for a large number of people of substance. Yet there are other things to fill their time. An estate shall be settled soon by the inclusion of a number of sets of antique tarot cards - something that a number of the protaginists have never heard of - others wonder if their 'gypsy feelings' towards same are no longer proper in their situation; and a father of one, who they shall visit, feels quite certain that the Original Deck MUST be among these. If so, how can it go to the museum, only to be catalogued and placed in some drawer. To me, there is a warm engulfing into the story - there is a feeling of tension and hope as certain characters begin, by recognizing more and more of all the symbols and interrelations that these make up, in quite a spiritual way, the Dance of Life and our/their place within. Their sharing is real. I freely say now that I have not totally finished this book. This is a special author. My copy is a first edition {1950}. The Saturday Review stated "Reading Charles Williams is an unforgettable experience." The NY Times stated "It is satire, rommance, thriller, morality, and glimpses of eternity all rolled into one." Whew.

I gave this book a four because it does take a little 'work' to get in to. I feel clearly that Mr Williams was a deeply spiritual man. This book's language is to the reader as though we are entering the late 19th century - a different place for us to be going to. But, quite worth the effort. Thank you for your time. Enjoy.

25 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Mystical and the Mundane, November 3, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Pinckney, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Greater Trumps (Paperback)

How does one combine tarot cards, gypsies, Christianity and the most mundane creatures on God's earth -- the English! -- into a rich, complex story, that grabs the imagination? Beats me, or I'd write it myself! Charles Williams, an acquaintance of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, takes the mystic Christian tradition and the most ordinary of events of modern life and fuses them together. This fusion makes the modern reader feel almost cross-eyed while reading this "spiritual thriller". I find much of his writing very heavy to slog through, but this is the most accessible of his novellas. It gives a unique, yet orthodox view of Christianity. Reminds me of Charles de Lint, for some reason.