ISBN 978 0 7206 1177
9 |
Goose of HermogenesIthell ColquhounWith Introductions by Peter Owen and Eric RatcliffeThe heroine of this fascinating story (described only as ‘I’) is compelled to visit a mysterious uncle, a black magician who lords over a kind of Prospero’s island that exists out of time and space. Startled by his bizarre behaviour and odd nocturnal movements, she eventually learns that he is searching for the philosopher’s stone. When his sinister attentions fall upon the priceless jewel heirloom in her possession, bewilderment turns to stark terror. She realizes she must find a way off the island . . . Goose of Hermogenes is an esoteric dreamworld fantasy composed of uncorrelated scenes and imagery mostly derived from medieval occult sources. That will repay several readings. Each chapter title in the book has a title relevant to a stage in alchemical progressions. However one wants to approach this obscure tale, it remains today as vividly unforgettable and disturbing as when it was first published by Peter Owen in 1961. ‘Lurks somewhere between the territory of Beardsley and Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast . . . shudderingly enjoyable' - Guardian ‘The whole novel possesses a haunting, visionary quality most uncommon in present-day prose.’ - Daily Telegraph ‘An extraordinary book . . . the descriptions have a gripping hallucinogenic clarity . . . Part Gothic fantasy, part emblematic progress through a dream world where we are never sure we have the complete key to the meaning, we see the workings of a perceptive and curious painterly eye.’ - Snoo Wilson, Mandrake Speaks ITHELL COLQUHOUN (1906–1988) was a painter and writer who, along with Eileen Agar and Leonora Carrington, one of the best-known English women surrealists. A friend of André Breton, she was also associated with Aleister Crowley. Her writing has been compared to that of William Blake and Walter de la Mare - the latter being a fan of her work |
