THE SCOTSMAN

Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland

9 November 1934

(page 6)

ALLEGED LIBEL IN BOOK.

Mr. Aleister Crowley’s Appeal Denied.

The appeal by Mr. Edward Alexander (Aleister) Crowley, an author, against the dismissal of his action in respect of an alleged libel in a book entitled “Laughing Torso,” was dismissed, with costs, before Lords Justices Greer, Slesser, and Roche in the Court of Appeal, London, yesterday.

The defendant were Constable & Co. (Ltd.), Charles Whittingham & Briggs (Ltd.), and Miss Nina Hamnett, the publishers, printers, and the writer, respectively, of the book.

Mr. Crowley said the book imputed to him the practice of black magic. According to him, black magic was “foul and criminal,” and he said he had never practised it. The defence was a denial that the words complained of were defamatory, and it was further pleaded that they were true in substance and in fact.

A special jury returned a verdict for the defendants, and Mr. Justice Swift entered judgment for them, with costs. It was against this decision that Mr. Crowley unsuccessfully appealed.