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  • The Black Pearl

    I have Volumes 1 and 2 of the Black Pearl: The memoirs of a Victorian Sex Magician.

    On the face of it, this book is blatantly erotic/pornographic and that appears to be its main purpose. However, it is marketed as the GENUINE memoirs of an aristocratic rake who's adventures in the main took place in the 1890's. The memoirs is reputed to have been published long after the events took place -supposedly in 1925.

    From the cover blurb...

    Among scholars and connoisseurs of Victorian erotica, THE Black Pearl books have long enjoyed a reputation as one of the rarest and most intriguing examples of 19th Century "underground" writing.

    ...and from the foreword,

    The edition discovered by Dr Geraldine Lamb, the editor, indicates on the publisher's notes opposite the tite page that this work was privately printed in an edition of 156 copies by Van den Haagen of Amsterdam, 1925.


    However, here is a quote from volume 2

    "I don't reckon that Jack the Ripper was a local", Davidson said to me as we relaxed upon our couches. "Everyone here knows everybody else's business and if he were a local, he'd've been rumbled soon enough. I reckon he was a toff posing as a gent. The tarts gave him easy access. I'm not saying I know who it was but having heard loads of rubbish I
    know who it wasn't. Why, some say it could've been the Duke of Clarence, you know, one of the Queen's sons. Hah! Impossible! A friend of mine was up at Balmoral with him the night two girls got killed. Some say it was Dr Gull, the queen's surgeon. Well, you tell me how some old crock in his seventies with a bad heart condition can rip the heart and guts out of tough East End girls who're capable of beating the s**t out of most thugs. I've even heard it said it was Wally Sickert, you know, the artist who was often down this way and who knew most of the girls who got killed. No way! I know Sickert and he's not like that. Everyone knows him around these partsand if you ask any East Ender if it was him, why, man or woman, they'd laugh in your face.

    Might've been that peculiar barrister bloke who had a taste for rough trade, though.
    "What's his name?" I asked.
    "I don't think it would be fair to state it without concrete proof" Davidson replied, "and anyway, He's since committed suicide."



    Royal Conspiracy theory pre-1925?
    - i doubt it.

    I was wondering how this book can be sold under it's present description - false advertising surely? However, I don't have the resources to prove 100% that this series of books are blatant fakes - but considering the blurb, what do you think?


    Another relevant quote considering the "Toffs in Spitalfields" thread recently, is the following quote...

    "I have heard abuse of the East End and I simply won't put up with it. Everywhere we went, we were welcomed with warmth and hospitality. I had been concerned lest my silk hat, cane, and cloak might upset the locals but this was not the case.
    "In these parts" John Davidson said to me, "we hate all toffee-nosed friggers. But we do like a gent"

  • #2
    I think the fact they suggest a drowned barrister when everybody at the time was under the impression Druitt was a doctor is even more anachronistic. And the mention of Sickert stands out as well.

    Comment


    • #3
      Oh Ho, Nemo,

      So YOU'RE the person who bought Volumes 1 & 2 of The Black Pearl?

      Caveat Emptor.

      Regards,

      Simon
      Never believe anything until it has been officially denied.

      Comment


      • #4
        This guff was obviously written after the Stephen Knight book in 1976.

        Someone's 'aving a larf.
        allisvanityandvexationofspirit

        Comment


        • #5
          Hi Simon - Caveat emptor, yes

          In my defence I have to say it was my wife who bought me the 2 volume omnibus edition - she thought I might like because it mentions Crowley...

          ...at least I think that's why she bought it

          That's my excuse anyway

          But my comment still stands. It definitely gives the impression that it is the genuine article of a memoirs from the 1890's published for the first time in 1925.

          To me it is an obvious fake - still worth a read though - lol

          Comment


          • #6
            Hi all-
            Is there any evidence that said Sickert was ever known as 'Wally' or 'Wat' ?Just interested.........

            Suz x
            'Would you like to see my African curiosities?'

            Comment


            • #7
              Yes

              Originally posted by Stephen Thomas View Post
              This guff was obviously written after the Stephen Knight book in 1976.
              Someone's 'aving a larf.
              Yes, written by Gerald Suster and based, so I was told, on D'Onston.
              SPE

              Treat me gently I'm a newbie.

              Comment


              • #8
                To those unaware,Gerald Suster was an occultist who wrote the following books.

                Fiction
                • The Devil's Maze (1979)
                • The Elect (1980)
                • Hitler and the Age of Horus (1981)
                • The Scar (1981)
                • The Offering (1982)
                • The Block (1983)
                • Stryker (1984)
                • The Force (1984)
                • The Handyman (1985)
                • The God Game (1986)
                • The Labyrinth of Satan (1997)

                Non-fiction
                • Hitler: The Occult Messiah (1981)
                • The Legacy of the Beast: The Life, Work, and Influence of Aleister Crowley (1988)
                • John Dee: Essential Readings (1986)
                • Hitler, Black Magician (1987)
                • Crowley's Apprentice: The Life and Ideas of Israel Regardie (1989)
                • The Truth About the Tarot: A Manual of Practice and Theory (1996)
                • The Hell-Fire Friars: Sex, Politics & Religion (2000)

                Comment


                • #9
                  Dear SPE:

                  That Mr. Suster wrote this book and based it on D'Onston wouldn't surprise me at all. Suster was an enthusiast of Crowleyana and may have used some of the O'Donnell-Crowley literature/dialogues to create the book. That year, 1925, is also when Crowley and Mr. O.D. were said to first engage in dialogue about RDS....

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Hi Stewart & Howard

                    That is very interesting. I wasn't expecting a reference to D'Onston

                    The central character (Hornby) may be based on a mixture of personalities as it does not seem to match anything I have read regarding D'Onston

                    He (Hornby) is purported to be a member of the aristocracy and seems to have known/met/had sexual relations with pretty much every famous personality from the period, such as Stoker, Yeats, Sickert, Ellen Terry, etc etc. He does not appear to me to be an occultist but is instead introduced to various occult practices in the search for sexual adventure.

                    The book(s) don't (in my opinion) seem to originate from an accomplished author.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Dear Nemo,sor...

                      Its also suspicious about the reference to Gull as per the comment made by Stephen Thomas which is clearly in reference to him...

                      ...and of course, dear old "Wally". Like this cat hung out with "Wally".

                      Correct me if I am in error, but wasn't the itinerary of PAV unknown ( The reference to Balmoral) or at least, unknown to the rank and file until 1988?

                      All the most best

                      How

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