Catherine Crook De Camp

The De Camps are always funny. Their mastery of semi-medieval dialogue is impressive. “Picaresque” is the word to describe the book.

Principles of magic — astrology — divination — prophecy — alchemy — demonology — witchcraft — mystic trances — numerology — cults and cultists — healing by magic... We live in an age when rockets explore the moon, when science daily shows us wonders beyond our wildest dreams, when optimists hope that man, within a generation, will conquer the problems of poverty, sickness, and age. We smile at the few remaining savages who practice magic to insure a bountiful crop or to heal their sick. But should we smile? All around us just beyond the bright new land of science, lies the old, twilight realm of magic. In these pages, a distinguished author and his wife give form and meaning to a subject that seems to many people as nebulous as the evening mist. Each chapter tells the story of a particular magical concept and describes those men and women who developed it and those who fell under its spell. Each chapter also spreads out a feast of thought for the reader to digest at his leisure.