Devil-Worship in France by Waite, A E
Rather that being an infernal how-to-book or even a history of what the title purports, Devil-Worship in France is in fact an examination of a most sensational hoax perpetrated by Parisian journalist Leo Taxil. Takil and his wholly fictitious associate, Diana Vaughan, created a scandal in the late 1800s by reporting on a most heinous occult sect, the Palladian Masons, who admitted women and performed diabolic acts of Luciferan Spiritism. Taxil`s revelation of this secret society and its supposed links to Freemasonry and other occult organizations created a public hysteria and outcry against all things occult, especially secret society`s, fostering a fear and misunderstanding of such orders that continues today. This republication of this rate Waite book includes a previously unpublished sequel, Diana Vaughan and the Question of Modern Palladism. In this he recounts the sordid affair in a less satirical more straight forward manner, with the benefit of hindsight after the sensationalistic uproar had died down. Here in this combined edition is the whole story behind the hoax that slandered occult communities throughout Europe in the late 1800s, the echoes of which can still be felt today. Noted esoteric scholar and author R. A. Gilbert provides an introduction that places the book in historical and contemporary context. hardcover 305 pgs......$50.00