Friendship in Doubt

Aleister Crowley, J. F. C. Fuller, Victor B. Neuburg, and British Agnosticism

Available in print and ebook formats

Friendship in Doubt is the first book to examine Aleister Crowley, J. F. C. Fuller & Victor B. Neuburg’s early involvement in the agnostic/freethought movement, how it brought them together, and how it influenced the early development of the New Religious Movement of Thelema and the foundational thoughts of the Golden Dawn offshoot A∴A∴. It also collects their essays and poetry on agnosticism—much of which has never been reprinted—providing a snapshot of where Crowley, Fuller and Neuburg were at the beginning of their intellectual and spiritual journey. I also examine where their journeys took them after their brief friendship ended.

Praise for Friendship in Doubt

In Friendship in Doubt, Richard Kaczynski offers a unique and highly readable examination of an under-researched yet formative period in the lives of Aleister Crowley, J. F. C. Fuller, and Victor Neuburg. With meticulous attention to historical detail as well as an expertly edited collection of primary sources made available to readers for the first time, Kaczynski – an internationally recognized authority on the topic – not only provides novel insights on Crowley, Fuller, and Neuburg and their respective relationships, but also sheds novel light on the relationship between the agnostic/secularist movement and twentieth-century esotericism.

—Manon Hedenborg White, author of The Eloquent Blood:
The Goddess Babalon and the Construction of Femininities in Western Esotericism

Richard Kaczynski’s Friendship in Doubt explores the unlikely collaboration and brief friendship between three extraordinary characters—the occultist bête noir Aleister Crowley, the military officer J.F.C. Fuller, and the ill-starred poet Victor Neuburg—and their involvement with the British agnostic and freethought circles at the turn of the last century. The study makes a strong argument for the often-overlooked influence that agnosticism exerted on some currents of Western esotericism. Kaczynski has already established himself as an accomplished biographer with his Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley, and is now proving himself equally adept in the field of intellectual biography. This is an important and meticulously researched study that is a pleasure to read.”

—Gordan Djurdjevic, author of India and the Occult:
The Influence of South Asian Spirituality on Modern Western Occultism

Friendship in Doubt considers the early magical pathways of Aleister Crowley, J. F. C. Fuller and Victor Neuburg, and the influences that drew them together. Kaczynski presents his analysis within the context of agnosticism and rationalism, and the publications established to present these schools of thought. Kaczynski weaves the key figures of the rationalist movement into his narrative, making skilful use of previously unexplored source material to bring these characters to life. The book is a masterful combination of scholarly insight and biographical story-telling.

—Deja Whitehouse, author of The Lady and the Beast:
The Extraordinary Partnership between Frieda Harris and Aleister Crowley

Links

Published by Oxford University Press
30% discount code for orders placed through OUP: AAFLYG6

Also available from: