13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The plot theory of history, December 27, 2000
This review is from: Mythology of the Secret Societies (Hardcover)
John M. Roberts, Fellow and Tutur of Magdalen College, Oxford and editor of Purnell's "History of the 20th Century," has given us a valuable insight into the "spectre that haunted European politics in the 18th and early 19th centuries."
This is not an history of secret societies, real and imagined. This is an history of the mythology that grew out of a belief that everything had a cause--therefore behind everything that happened in the world, there was someone causing it. John M. Roberts clearly demonstrates that much of the direction of 19th century politics was influenced, not by secret societies, but by a belief on the part of rulers in their existence and power.
A fine read, well researched and footnoted. The wisdom in leaving out detailed bibiographical citations is questionable. The lack of a full index is also awkward. As a member of the Quatuor Coronti Lodge No. 2076, London, I was amused to see a reference to "Ars Quattuor Coronatorum.Trasactions of the Quattuor Coronati Lodge, Margate." Readers unfamiliar with German and French are given fair warning:long quotes--no English translation.
These are quibbles about an otherwise excellent book.
Another review can be found in Vol. LXXXVI of "Ars Quatuor Coronatorum."
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The history of conspiracy theory, September 19, 2009
Unfortunately, I have only read this work in an earlier edition, published about 40 years ago. Hopefully, this new edition is broadly similar!
J.M. Roberts' "The Mythology of the Secret Societies" begins with a disclaimer: it's not really a history of the secret societies themselves, but rather a history of conspiracy theories about secret societies. The disclaimer sounds like false modesty, since the book *does* cover the history of secret societies, most notably the Freemasons. The Illuminati, the Carbonari and the revolutionary circle around Buonarotti are also mentioned.
But yes, the real point of the work is to trace the evolution of conspiracy thinking about these societies. Still today, conspiracy writers claim that "the Masons rule the world", or believe that the Illuminati are behind all wars, economic crises and political assassinations. (Actually, the real Illuminati was a group in Bavaria active during the 1770's and 1780's.)
What I found particularly interesting about this book - but not very surprising - is the political pedigree of these conspiracy theories. They hail from the French monarchist right, the aristocratic refugees fleeing the French revolution. The point of the conspiracy theories, then, was to defend the ancien regime. Today, however, these "throne and altar" conspiracy theories have been taken up by conservative-libertarian groups in the United States, New Age groups, and others who should logically oppose the French aristocrats (and frequently do). Something similar is the case with the American conspiracy theories of the late 1700's, originally connected with the Federalists and directed against the Jeffersonians, but later taken up by groups who oppose Hamilton and support Jefferson! (This issue, however, is not mentioned in Roberts' book, which concentrates on Europe.)
That a theory can wander from one end of the political spectrum to completely different ends, in itself requires further study...
"The Mythology of the Secret Societies" fills a gap, since many other books on conspiracy thinking don't dig deep enough, but concentrates on 20th century developments (for instance, Barkun's otherwise excellent "A culture of conspiracy"). Roberts has followed the trail of conspiracist thinking back to the French revolution and even earlier, thus giving us a necessary historical background.
Five stars.
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3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another fun read, September 12, 2009
If you are not reading books, you are ill informed. There is a simple answer to every question - a WRONG answer, but a simple answer for simple minds. The answer is most often quite complex, rarely springs fully-formed from the head of Zeus, and satisfies few. This 'renewed' book looks at some rather obvious patterns that many secret societies have in common, and follows their fanciful folklore and lust for power -- often no more than 'perceived power.' This writing throws a little light on the bonds between organizations, and plots the legendary careers of some of the elite 'who would be king' during the revolutionary years in Europe. I think there is as much folklore as history, but you decide.
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