Gothic Immortals: The Fiction of the Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross

258 Pages·2016·6.081 MB·English

by  Marie Mulvey-Roberts

Routledge Revivals
Gothic Immortals
First published in 1990, this book represents the first full-length study
into the group of novels designated ‘Rosicrucian’ and traces the emer-
gence of this distinct fictional genre, revealing a continuous occult
tradition running through seemingly diverse literary texts. Taking the
Enlightenment as a starting point, the author shows how the physi-
cian’s secular appropriation of the idea of eternal life, through the
study of longevity and physical decay, attracted writers like William
Godwin. It focuses on the bodily immortality of the Rosicrucian hero
and investigates the novels of five major writers — Godwin, Percy
Bysshe Shelley, Mary Shelley, Charles Maturin, and Bulwer-Lytton.
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Gothic Immortals
The Fiction of the Brotherhood of the Rosy
Cross
Marie Mulvey-Roberts
Firstpublishedin1990
byRoutledge
Thiseditionfirstpublishedin2016byRoutledge
2ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,Oxon,OX144RN
andbyRoutledge
711ThirdAvenue,NewYork,NY10017
RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup,aninformabusiness
©1990MarieMulvey-Roberts
TherightofMarieMulvey-Robertsto beidentifiedasauthorofthisworkhas
been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
DesignsandPatentsAct1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
knownor hereafterinvented,includingphotocopyingandrecording,orin any
informationstorageorretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthe
publishers.
Publisher’sNote
Thepublisherhasgonetogreatlengthstoensurethequalityofthisreprintbut
pointsoutthatsomeimperfectionsintheoriginalcopiesmaybeapparent.
Disclaimer
The publisher has made every effort to trace copyright holders and welcomes
correspondencefromthosetheyhavebeenunabletocontact.
ALibraryofCongressrecordexistsunderLCcontrolnumber:89005983
ISBN13:978-1-138-67151-5(hbk)
ISBN13:978-1-315-61692-6(ebk)
ISBN13:978-1-138-67158-4(pbk)
Gothic Immortals
The Fiction of the Brotherhood
of the Rosy Cross
Marie Roberts
First published 1990
by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
a division of Routledge, Chapman and Hall, Inc.
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
© 1990
Printed in Great Britain by
T.J. Press (Padstow) Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Roberts, Marie
Gothic immortals: the fiction of the brotherhood of the Rosy Cross
1. Gothic novels in English. Influence of
Rosicrucianism. 1745-1837
I. Title
823'.0872
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Roberts, Marie.
Gothic immortals: the fiction of the brotherhood of the
Rosy Cross/Marie Roberts,
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-415-02368-8
1. English fiction - 19th century - History and criticism.
2. Rosicrucians in literature. 3. Gothic revival (Literature).
4. Occultism in literature. 5. Godwin, William, 1756-1836. St.
Leon. 6. Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron, 1803-1873
- Knowledge - Occultism. I. Title
PR868.R75R67 1990 89-5983
823'.009'37 - dc 19 CIP
ISBN 0-415-02368-8
For Catherine, Emrys,
Marie, Janet, Wimbo
and in Memory of Laly and Nogga
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Contents
List of Plates
Acknowledgements
1. The Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross 1
Forbidden Knowledge 9
The Philosopher’s Stone and Elixir of Life 14
The Eternal Wanderer 18
2. William Godwin’s Darkness of Enlightenment 25
The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters 25
An Enlightenment Panacea: The Cure for Death 27
Godwin and Malthus 31
Lives of the Necromancers 34
St Leon - A Rosicrucian Novel 37
Alchemist and Adept 40
The Anarchy of Immortality 45
St Godwin 47
Hermippus Redivivus 49
3. Percy Bysshe Shelley: A Gothic Immortal 57
Science and Magic 57
The Bavarian Illuminati 59
Nightmare Abbey 63
St Irvyne: The Rosicrucian 67
The Wandering Jew 72
4. Mary Shelley and the Mortal Immortal 86
The Mortal Immortal 87
‘Valerius: The Reanimated Roman’ and
‘Roger Dodsworth: the Reanimated Englishman’ 92
‘Transformation’ and ‘The Evil Eye’ 94
Frankenstein 95
The Rosicrucian Cavern 98