Symonds, John (1914-)
Symonds, John (1914-)
British novelist, writer of children's books, and author of important works on occultism. He met Aleister Crowley in 1945 and tried to assist publication of his writings in the last two years of Crowley's life. He became Crowley's literary executor, and he is the author of the standard biography of Crowley: The Great Beast (1951). He went on to write several books about Crowley—the most recent appeared in 1989—and with Kenneth Grant he edited The Confessions of Aleister Crowley and Crowley's own book Magick (1973). Symonds was a member of the editorial board of Man, Myth, and Magic (1970) and wrote other books on occult topics, the most notable being his biography of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky: Madame Blavatsky: Medium and Magician (1960).
Sources:
Symonds, John. The Great Beast. London: MacDonald, 1951. Reprint, St. Albans, England: Mayflower, 1973.
——. The King of the Shadow Realm. London: Duckworth, 1989.
——. Light Over Water. London: J. Baker for the Unicorn Press, 1963.
——. The Magic of Aleister Crowley. London: Frederick Muller, 1958.
——. Thomas Brown and the Angels. London: Hutchinson, 1961.