The Scrutinies of Simon Iff by Aleister Crowley
Description
Second Hand / Antiquarian
Published by Teitan Press in 1987. Edited by Martin Starr.
Condition: Near Fine.
Simon Iff is the protagonist of a series of short detective stories written by occultist Aleister Crowley. He is portrayed as a mystic, magician, world traveller, high society figure and great detective who is advanced in years but possesses a thorough insight into human psychology.
The Simon Iff stories were written during a visit to New Orleans in December 1916, primarily as a means of alleviating Crowley's financial hardships. The mystic was verging on bankruptcy, a result of his lifestyle, and extravagant self-publishing, while having never earned a wage. The initial collection of six stories which Crowley penned would be labelled The Scrutinies of Simon Iff. Crowley would later write twelve more stories under the title Simon Iff in America, six stories as Simon Iff Abroad, and two final stories as Simon Iff Psychoanalyst. The Scrutinies of Simon Iff were first published in 1917–1918 in the New York publication The International under the pseudonym Edward Kelly (presumably a nod to Edward Kelley, the Elizabethan alchemist and enochian magician).
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Paperback.