THE NOTTINGHAM JOURNAL

Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England

8 November 1929

(page 3)

BOOKS AND BOOKMEN.

Spirit of the Moon.

Moonchild. By Aleister Crowley. Mandrake Press, 10/6).

The attack in the Press which led to Aleister Crowley’s first novel “The Diary of a Drug Fiend” will be recalled by many readers. Here is another story more fascinating than daring, which could only have come from the brilliant pen of this amazing writer. It describes a magical operation by which a spirit of the moon is inculcated into the being of an expectant mother despite the attempted preventions of rival magicians. Sicily is chosen as the centre for the great climax of the story. There are weird happenings at a séance with restless fingers “moving and twisting in uncanny shapes.” Articles upon the table “hop, skip and dance like autumn leaves in a whirlwind.” The story is strange and entrancing, and fully in keeping with the striking personality of the author.