James "Hener" Henry Skene

Born:  3 December 1877 in London, England.

Died: 14 July 1916 in Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France.

Hener Skene appears as Monet-Knott in Crowley's Moonchild.

James “Hener” Henry Skene was one of the many pianists that Isadora Duncan performed with and traveled with in her lifetime. However for this story, Skene is important because he was Duncan’s pianist in the time immediately before of the death of her children. In the winter months before, Hener had accompanied Isadora to Russia. He had also played for her in the Spring in Paris. After this date, 19 April 1913, Hener never played for Duncan again and moved away from her life shortly after the tragedy. Isadora spent the next few years recovering and trying to put her professional and personal life on a path that would enable her dreams to come true.

Isadora wrote about her time working and dancing the accompaniment of Hener Skene. Isadora writes that “exquisite hours” of “marvelous happiness” were given to her by artists such Hener Skene. Further, Isadora called Skene “a pianist of great talent and indefatigable energy for work.” She described spending all day and all night dancing with Skene playing the piano and then finding that the two of them were so involved in their art that they entered a Hindu ecstasy. There is debate as to whether Isadora and Hener were intimate lovers, but Isadora had many other admirers around her at this time.

Hener started playing for Isadora in 1908. That same year Isadora writes in her autobiography, that she had moved into Gervex’s studio at Neuilly Sur Seine “which had a music room like a chapel” and she states that now she went to live there with her children. However, Isadora’s date is wrong because she did move there with her children but in 1908 Patrick had not yet been born. Patrick was born 1 May 1910, so Isadora must have moved to Neuilly after 1910.

Hener Skene also played a part in the affair that took place between Aleister Crowley and Mary d'Este-Sturges. In 1911, Aleister Crowley was brought to a party where Isadora Duncan and Mary d'Este-Sturges were present. The invitation was extended to Crowley by Hener Skene. At some point, Hener had become a part of Crowley’s followers and there were reports that Crowley was going to include him in a theatrical production. Crowley was as well interested in the nature and promise of Isadora’s new art form. Crowley apparently did not like Hener and his calling Hener a “prig” is widely reported. Isadora was also not taken with Crowley, but her companion of this time, Mary d'Este-Sturges, was and this night was the beginning of the Mary d'Este-Sturges/Crowley liaison which resulted in one of Crowley’s most revered books, Book 4 Part I and Book 4 Part II.