The Progradior Correspondence, Letters by Aleister Crowley, C. S. Jones, & Others [Hardcover]

Aleister Crowley (Author), Frank Bennett (Author), Charles Stansfeld Jones (Author), Leilah Waddell (Author), Leah Hirsig (Author), Keith Richmond (Editor, Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2009

Hardcover. Large 8vo. (9 1/4 x 6 1/4 inches) xii + 148pp. Blue cloth with gilt titling to spine. Dustjacket. b&w frontispiece. Index. Edition limited to 666 numbered copies. The Progradior Correspondence comprises the text of ninety letters and other documents that were exchanged between Frater Progradior, Aleister Crowleys Lancashire-born follower, Frank Bennett, and members of the Beasts inner circle, including Crowley himself, Charles Stansfeld Jones, Leilah Waddell, Leah Hirsig and others. The correspondence began in 1910 when Bennett wrote to Crowley seeking his advice on the performance of The Sacred Magic of Abra-Melin the Mage. It continued through the years of The Equinox, through Crowleys residence in the United States during the First World War, and on past the heydays of the Abbey of Thelema at Cefalu in the early 1920s. The exchange finally drew to a close in 1926, by which time Crowley had dropped or otherwise lost contact with most of his associates of the preceding decade and a half. A third of the letters were written by Aleister Crowley. Like the rest of the correspondence, these focus largely on the efforts that he and his followers were making to promote his occult fraternities, the A.'. A.'. and the O.T.O. As such they offer valuable first-hand accounts of the development of Crowleys creed of Thelema during this important period. The letters are highly revealing on a personal level as well, and provide considerable insight into Crowleys character and the influence that he had on the people around him. In broader terms they give a fascinating impression of the lives and activities of all those involved. The Progradior Correspondence is edited by Frank Bennetts biographer, Keith Richmond, who has also contributed a short Introduction and added footnotes to elucidate some of the more obscure names, words and passages in the letters.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: The Teitan Press; First, limited edition (2009)
• ISBN-10: 0933429665
• ISBN-13: 978-0933429666
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,033,001 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended., October 17, 2009

By 

Tony Iannotti - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Progradior Correspondence, Letters by Aleister Crowley, C. S. Jones, & Others (Hardcover)

The Progradior Correspondance offers a fascinating insight into the development of both the members and the organizations OTO and A.'.A.'. during the decade and a half that it covers. It is great to see this material available in its entirety, appetites for same having been whetted by the biography Progradior and the Beast, and The Magical Record of Frater Progradior.

The Correspondence provides readers of the earlier two Progradior titles with a fuller and detailed picture of how the long-distance relationships between the seminal founders of Thelema had their challenges and met their rewards. Rounding out the characters of not only Frank Bennett and Aleister Crowley, but also Frater Achad, Norman Mudd, Leila Waddell, Leah Hirsig, and others, the letters run the gamut from formal organizational announcements to very personal missives.

Highly recommended.