Esotericism & Narrative

The occult fiction of Charles Williams...unveiled.

Esoteric knowledge and experiences have pulsed between the personal lives and public expression of famous authors and artists from William Blake to William S. Burroughs. In Esotericism and Narrative, cultural historian Aren Roukema explores how the strange, mystical worldview of occult Christianity shaped the fiction of Charles Williams-poet, theologian, novelist, and magical thinker. Esotericism and Narrative offers a rare bridge between literary analysis and the study of occult and Christian religious expression. Roukema situates Williams in a larger trend of gothic occult fiction, wherein the irruptions of the supernatural create space to explore and communicate intense mystical or anomalous experiences.

A contemporary of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, Williams blended Anglican theology with ceremonial magic, Kabbalah, Rosicrucianism, and Tarot. His novels can be read as religious allegories and supernatural thrillers, but they are also carefully crafted expressions of esoteric cosmology and spiritual initiation. Roukema shows how Williams's fiction acted as a laboratory for the alchemical transformation of self and society. His compelling study peels back the layers of symbolism, tracing themes like divine descent, magical correspondences, sacred geometry, and visionary experience in the narrative fabric of Williams's novels.

For readers intrigued by Western esoteric traditions and their impact on popular culture, this book is a powerful guide to one of the twentieth century's most enigmatic authors of occult Christian mysticism.