The Law is for All. The Authorized Popular Commentary to the Book of the Law.
Tempe, AZ: New Falcon Publications, 1998. First Edition Thus, Second Printing. Softcover. Large octavo (8.75 x 6 inches). 302pp + (ii pp blank). Glossy printed wrappers. Index. Colour plate of the obverse and reverse of the Stele of Revealing. Indexes. List of "Works Cited." In addition to the printed text (Liber CCXX) and the facsimile of the manuscript (Liber XXXI) of "The Book of the Law," it also includes Crowley's "New Commentary," the "Tunis Comment," and the Introduction written by Crowley's friend Louis Wilkinson (AKA Louis Marlow). According to the editor of the volume, Hymenaeus Beta, it is arguably the first book to present Crowley's thoughts on "Liber AL" to a broad modern audience in the manner that he had intended. Louis Umfreville Wilkinson (1881-1966) was an English man-of-letters who wrote a number of satirical autobiographical and fictional works, mostly under the pseudonym "Louis Marlow." Wilkinson was a good friend of Aleister Crowley's: the two had an extensive correspondence, and Crowley so respected his literary skills that he engaged Wilkinson to prepare this popular edition of Crowley commentaries on "Liber AL." Wilkinsons' edition of the "Commentaries" remained unpublished during Crowley's lifetime. It reached proof stage in a collaboration between Alexander Watt and Karl Germer in the 1950s (the only known proof copy was previously in stock at Weiser Antiquarian Books - it is now in the O.T.O. archives) but remained unpublished until Hymenaus Beta brought this edition to press with New Falcon in 1996. Crowley had also made Louis Wilkinson one of his executors, and it was Louis Wilkinson who caused some uproar amongst the more excitable members of the press by reading from Crowley's "Hymn to Pan" and other of his works at the Beast's funeral. A hint of shelf-wear, light bump to top corner of text block otherwise a seemingly unread, bright, clean, near-Fine copy. Item #70163
ISBN: 1561840904
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