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A Romance of Two Worlds

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To which literary genre does "Romance of Two Worlds" belong? It has sci-fi, fantasy, and occult elements. It offers some adventure, some romance, and some mystery. What is most striking, however, is that the plot is about a spiritual quest--the kind everyone feels the need to begin, sooner or later, when the world's answers no longer satisfy one's questions.

Marie Corelli's nameless narrator represents the seeking soul in all of us. Yet, at the beginning of the story, she appears to have given up the search. Unlike those who have never bothered to search and do not mind being in the dark, she is wasting away in mind, body and spirit. Then she meets a mysterious painter who asks to do her portrait. It is in his studio that she has her first supernatural experience, which rejuvenates her body and rekindles her need to find the answers.

Her first teacher is another mysterious figure, a Chaldean named Heliobas. (It is hinted in some chapters that he may be one of the identities of the Avatar known as the Comte de St. Germaine. I'm keeping an open mind.) Naturally, most of the world sees him as eccentric and frightening: his strange experiments with electricity and his radical takes on everything (including the books of the bible) make him a fascinating teacher to those who have "eyes to see and ears to hear," but a threat to society to those who remain in the dark.

Here is how Corelli's writing can be so off-putting. Nobody likes thinking that he or she is in the dark about anything; yet Corelli stoutly implies that this must be so for those who do not believe in her blatantly occult themes. Then she goes on to combine occult and Christian elements, creating a bizarre form of esoteric Christianity that she presents as TRUTH.

Yet let's not quibble over terminology. So what if Corelli believes that the soul is literally electric and that Heaven is a great electric circle? Other writers have made similar guesses about the soul and about Heaven, using safe words like "love" or "light." When we read that Jesus' body was electrically charged, which was why he could heal through touch, we can at least be impressed by the spunk it took to say such a thing in Victorian England.

Ultimately, everyone gets to write the story of his or her soul's search for God and to discover that the many different stories are just retellings of the same one. This retelling is particularly lovely, due to Corelli's descriptive and reverent style. It is with great passion that the heroine declares: "I desire to know why this world, this universe exists; and I also wish to prove, if possible, the truth and necessity of religion. And I think I would give my life, if it were worth anything, to be certain of the truth of Christianity."

I don't want to reveal the reason why the novel's title is "Romance of Two Worlds", because behind it is a fascinating twist that I think all readers should discover on their own. Don't worry that the book is all dialogue and teaching, however, as the plot takes many unexpected turns.

Other books in what has been called the "Heliobas triology" are "Ardath" and "The Soul of Lilith". However, it is "The Life Everlasting" that is the proper continuation of "Romance of Two Worlds", as it leads our heroine to a romance of her very own.

I was compelled to read from cover to cover and the left the Romance inspired with renewed hope....renewed spirit. You might also like ANGELES IN HARSH WORLD, by Don Bradley. Another wonderful, mystical adventure.

You have probably already read all about how wonderfully Madame Corelli writes, and thus, I shall not elaborate on that. All that I can say is that this heavenly-sent book has changed my life. I had always been turned off from Christianity because of all the things that I knew of the church, and of the bleak end that awaited all who didn't belive in the church. But Marie opened up my eyes and my heart. I came across this book by "chance" and am now sure that it was all ordained by God. Thanks to this book opening up my senses, I now have found my twin soul and we are eternally grateful to God for the gifts he has given us. I highly recommend this book to both those who feel that they have already begun upon thier own spiritual journey, and those who feel alienated from God. "The Life Everlasting", a later book by also written by this earthly angel is another book that I belive we all need to read. Just give it 30 pages and you will most certainly agree with me. Thank you ! and God be with you!

_A Romance of Two Worlds_ by Victorian novelist Marie Corelli is a majestic tale full at once of mystery, intrigue, romance, and the occult revealing the inner meaning of Christianity in beautiful prose. Marie Corelli was an English novelist of the Victorian era who was much criticized in her day for her scathing criticism of the materialism, positivism, and scientism popular in the late Nineteenth century as revealed in her novels. This novel expounds an occult theory of Christianity based on electricity. At the same time however, the author decries the excesses of spiritism that had made their way to fill in the gap left by materialist philosophy. The author does not espouse any particular creed of Christianity, though this novel focuses upon Catholicism; however, her theory of the occult essence in electricity is unique. This is what makes up her "Electric Creed of Christianity". The book includes an introduction and preface written by the author as well as an appendix containing letters testifying to the uniqueness of Marie Corelli's spiritualism. Corelli was obviously influenced by Swedenborgianism and Theosophy as well which can be seen in the novel in several places.

This novel tells the tale of the author, a pianist, who has become ill with a physical depression due to overwork. At the request of her doctor, who has run out of cures, she is advised to leave London and head for warmer climes. She travels with two friends, an American colonel and his wife. She arrives in Cannes where she meets the artist, Raffaelo Cellini, who has acquired an amazing system of color and who offers to paint her portrait. Although she is ill, she decides to allow him to do so. While Cellini is painting her portrait he offers her a magic elixer which provides her with three visions of a mysterious individual known as Heliobas. She is to find out that Heliobas is the artist's master and that he had saved Cellini from a similar depression. She is given a book to examine which reveals the hidden spiritual meaning in music and she also meets Heliobas' incredible Newfoundland dog Leo who travels back and forth from Paris where Heliobas resides bringing messages. Cellini agrees to have her meet Heliobas who will be able to cure her through his wonderful electrical powers. The author travels to Paris where she meets Heliobas and is given special potions which enable her to make a full recovery. She also meets Heliobas' sister Zara, a sculptress impressive in her own right, and their friend Prince Ivan. Heliobas is a mysterious Chaldean who has mastered the art of electricity. He allows the author to experience entirely new realms, including interplanetary travel in which she sees for herself the glories of God, the angelic being Azul (Heliobas' "twin soul"), her own guardian angel, and the mysteries of Christianity. All of this is accomplished through what Marie Corelli calls "electricity". Zara herself is possessed of special electrical powers and wears a special stone which serves to channel her electrical charge. The book encompasses at once mystery, romance, tragedy, and yet it offers hope through Christian belief against the materialism and atheism of the age. Throughout Corelli notes how many have scoffed at traditional belief in Christ and that few will understand her novel or its inner meaning. The novel also offers philosophical proof for the existence of God and the truth of God incarnate as Christ. The writing is beautiful and majestic, truly appealing to the inner soul. This novel remains a unique experience among Victorian writers and represents the first attempt of Marie Corelli at writing novels.

Perhaps if I had Marie Corellie's command of the English language I could begin to articulate the praise "A Romance of Two Worlds" is due. Clearly this gifted woman had the mind of a philosopher, the heart of a poet, and the soul of a prophetess. She has a wonderful way of opening one's mind and and stimulating one's imagination. From the onset of the book I became enraptured by the eloquence with which this story is told and the humility and sincerity that emenate from it. I recently borrowed an original edition of the book, well over 100 years old. The delicacy of the physical book only added to the rich story contained therein. I am still in the process of reading the book, but I highly recommend this marvelous piece for any spiritually minded person. As a person that spends much time reading and studying religious, philosophical, and mystical texts, it has truly been a delightful change of pace reading this novel, which deals with those same issues, but does so via a truly wonderful and beautifully told story. I thank God for this fascinating work of art.

Though wildly popular in their time, (1890's-1910's), Marie Corelli's Mystical-Romantic novels are almost unknown now, as is the entire genre. A Romance of Two Worlds was her first novel, written in 1886, and one of her best. A strange mix of Victorian romanticism, science, spirituality, and feminism, the book details a turning point in the life of a female piano improviser (!) as she discovers occult knowledge from a Chaldean mystic and his beautiful, innocent sister. Though the book is thoroughly dated by now, it gains rather than looses charm from the cultural distance it evokes. This book may have also been an inspiration for the legendary Jazz artist, Sun Ra, who named a composition "Romance of Two Planets", and who would have found much to like about Corelli.

This novel is Corelli's premiere in the world of fiction. It features dream-magic, mesmerism, with many and varied opium-induced occult powers complete with a world-weary & emotionally crumbling heroine on a quest for the meaning of life - resulting in a cosmic journey by means of astral projection with an angelic guide, embodying a trip to utopian Saturn, to technologically bizarre Jupiter and to the center of the universe, the place of creation, where God dwells in electrical form. Corelli combines weird science and spiritualism. It is a wild and strange trip to dip into Corelli's world but worth the ride. A delectably fantastic combination of feminine occult powers combined with sci-fi surrealism.

I read Marie Corelli's first mystical novel The Romance of Two Worlds after being told that it was the favorite novel of Queen Victoria and Italy's Queen Margherita. I thought the language was beautiful and, alas, majestic. Marie Corelli possessed a brilliant mind, she spoke so cleverly about everything. Every logician would agree that The Romance of two Worlds is a convincing long argument in which Marie Corelli tries to convince the public of her beliefs. However, the problem with her argument is that it contains every one of The Major Informal Fallacies. Especially the appeal to force (argument ad baculum), for example: believe in God, or forever be condemned. Indeed, this is what makes the novel (or argument) faulty; at the prologue of the novel she disputes the fallacies of different theorists, and yet makes fallacies of her own throughout the book! This book is very creative and descriptive - a very beautiful picture of England during an age of universal inquiry and universal skepticism - but utterly unbelievable. The reader, unless ignorant, won't believe a word Corelli says - and shouldn't.