To Alfred A. Knopf for permission to quote from the Machen books bearing the Borzoi imprint, and for having published them in the first place. To Robert McBride & Co. for permission to quote from The Terror, and to Dodd, Mead & Co. for permission to quote from More Authors and I.
To Hilary Machen for his courtesy in handling my proofs at Amersham and, finally, to Arthur Machen for the ‘plenary blessing’ he gave this book.
CONTENTS
| [PREFACE] | |
| PROLOGUE: Conversation Piece | [1] |
| CHAPTER | |
| One: Far Off Things | [14] |
| Two: The London Adventure | [37] |
| Three: The Weaver of Fantasy | [58] |
| Four: A Noble Profession | [72] |
| Five: The Legend of a Legend | [90] |
| Six: The Yellow Books | [112] |
| Seven: Machen’s Magic | [128] |
| Eight: The Pattern | [144] |
| Nine: The Veritable Realists | [161] |
| Ten: Things Near and Far | [178] |
| EPILOGUE | [197] |
| BIBLIOGRAPHY | [199] |
ILLUSTRATIONS
| [FRONTISPIECE] | |
| Drawing made from the Hoppe Photograph | |
| SOME MACHEN ITEMS | |
| A photograph showing one of the famous Knopf Yellow Books and several title pages | [facing page 112] |
| THE MACHENS IN LONDON | |
| A photograph taken in London in 1937, Courtesy of Mr. Montgomery Evans | [facing page 178] |
Prologue
CONVERSATION PIECE
“And what,” asked the younger man, “are they?” He pointed to a long row of books plainly bound in yellow with faded blue and almost indecipherable titles. The Host felt a warmer glow than the brandy alone could have produced. “They are,” he said reverently, “my Machens.”
“Your whats?” asked the younger man absently. He had caught sight of a promising looking volume, enticingly entitled Aphrodite, on a lower shelf. The Host intercepted the glance, recognized the symptoms of failing interest and, with skill born of experience, drew his chair before the Aphrodite and pulled out a lapfull of the yellow books.