Lure of the Arcane : The Literature of Cult and Conspiracy

Fascination with the arcane is a driving force in this comprehensive survey of conspiracy fiction. Theodore Ziolkowski traces the evolution of cults, orders, lodges, secret societies, and conspiracies through various literary manifestations—drama, romance, epic, novel, opera—down to the thrillers of the twenty-first century. __Lure of the Arcane__ considers Euripides’s __Bacchae__, Andreae’s __Chymical Wedding__, Mozart’s __The Magic Flute__, and Eco’s __Foucault’s Pendulum__, among other seminal works. Mimicking the genre’s quest-driven narrative arc, the reader searches for the significance of conspiracy fiction and is rewarded with the author’s cogent reflections in the final chapter. After much investigation, Ziolkowski reinforces Umberto Eco’s notion that the most powerful secret, the magnetic center of conspiracy fiction, is in fact "a secret without content." Explore 2,000 years of conspiracy in fiction.Outstanding Academic Title, ChoiceFascination with the arcane is a driving force in this comprehensive survey of conspiracy fiction. Theodore Ziolkowski traces the evolution of cults, orders, lodges, secret societies, and conspiracies through various literary manifestations—drama, romance, epic, novel, opera—down to the thrillers of the twenty-first century. Lure of the Arcane considers Euripides's Bacchae, Andreae's Chymical Wedding, Mozart's The Magic Flute, and Eco's Foucault's Pendulum, among other seminal works. Mimicking the genre's quest-driven narrative arc, the reader searches for the significance of conspiracy fiction and is rewarded with the author's cogent reflections in the final chapter. After much investigation, Ziolkowski reinforces Umberto Eco's notion that the most powerful secret, the magnetic center of conspiracy fiction, is in fact “a secret without content.”

Fascination with the arcane is a driving force in this comprehensive survey of conspiracy fiction. Theodore Ziolkowski traces the evolution of cults, orders, lodges, secret societies, and conspiracies through various literary manifestations—drama, romance, epic, novel, opera—down to the thrillers of the twenty-first century.

Lure of the Arcane considers Euripides’s Bacchae, Andreae’s Chymical Wedding, Mozart’s The Magic Flute, and Eco’s Foucault’s Pendulum, among other seminal works. Mimicking the genre’s quest-driven narrative arc, the reader searches for the significance of conspiracy fiction and is rewarded with the author’s cogent reflections in the final chapter. After much investigation, Ziolkowski reinforces Umberto Eco’s notion that the most powerful secret, the magnetic center of conspiracy fiction, is in fact "a secret without content."

Fascination with the arcane is a driving force in this comprehensive survey of conspiracy fiction. The author traces the evolution of cults, orders, lodges, secret societies, and conspiracies through various literary manifestations - drama, romance, epic, novel, opera - down to the thrillers of the twenty-first century. This text considers Euripides’s Bacchae, Andreae’s Chymical Wedding, Mozart’s The Magic Flute, and Eco’s Foucault’s Pendulum, among other seminal works. Mimicking the genre’s quest-driven narrative arc, the reader searches for the significance of conspiracy fiction and is rewarded with the author’s cogent reflections in the final chapter. After much investigation, the author reinforces Umberto Eco’s notion that the most powerful secret, the magnetic center of conspiracy fiction, is in fact “a secret without content.” Cover 1 Contents 8 Preface 10 Introduction 16 1 The Mystery Cults of Antiquity 26 2 The Order of Knights Templar in the Middle Ages 44 3 The Rosicrucians of the Post-Reformation 61 4 The Lodges of the Enlightenment 80 5 Secret Societies of Romantic Socialism 114 6 Modern Variations 147 7 Interlude: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion 174 8 The Playfulness of Postmodernism 193 Conclusion 210 Notes 216 Index 240 A 240 B 240 C 240 D 241 E 241 F 241 G 242 H 242 I 242 J 242 K 243 L 243 M 243 N 243 O 244 P 244 Q 244 R 244 S 244 T 245 V 245 W 245 Y 245 Z 245