Published in 1995
490 pages
Mary Katherine Greer is a former professor of women’s studies and the author of The Essence of Magic and three books on Tarot, including Tarot for Your Self: A Workbook for Personal Transformation. She leads workshops in women’s mystery traditions, aromatherapy, writing, and Tarot throughout the United States and in Europe and lives in Nevada City, California.
What is this book about?
These four remarkable women, core members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, left a lasting imprint on the politics, literature, and theater of 19th-century Europe. Less well-known than the famous men in their lives, including Yeats and Shaw, their stories are now told.
helpful review from Gabriel Clarke on goodreads:
“Greer’s study of Florence Farr, Maud Gonne, Moina Mathers and Annie Horniman tries to achieve several different things. At times, it can feels like the interwoven story of these four women has been shoehorned into a pre-determined theory of psychological archetypes without necessarily considering the contradictions and untidiness of their lived experiences (and the apparent blank slate Moina Mathers left behind concerning her life with McGregor Mothers doesn’t help). The frequent digressions into arcane astrological terminology probably doesn’t encourage the uninitiated either. But at its best, it deservedly and convincingly puts these four women where they belong – at the heart of the development of a unique society and series of events and as key innovators in theatre, magic, spirituality, politics, feminism and education.”
