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Black Magic: A Tale of the Rise and Fall of the Antichrist
Black Magic - A Tale of the Rise and Fall of the Antichrist by Marjorie Bowen Black magic has traditionally referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes. With respect to the left-hand path and right-hand path dichotomy, black magic is the malicious counterpart of benevolent white magic. In modern times, some find that the definition of "black magic" has been convoluted by people who define magic or ritualistic practices that they disapprove of as "black magic." In the large room of a house in a certain quiet city in Flanders, a man was gilding a devil. The chamber looked on to the quadrangle round which the house was built; and the sun, just overhead, blazed on the vine leaves clinging to the brick and sent a reflected glow into the sombre spaces of the room. The devil, rudely cut out of wood, rested by his three tails and his curled-back horns against the wall, and the man sat before him on a low stool. On the table in front of the open window stood a row of knights in fantastic armour, roughly modelled in clay; beside them was a pile of vellum sheets covered with drawings in brown and green. By the door a figure of St. Michael leant against a chair, and round his feet were painted glasses of every colour and form. On the white-washed wall hung a winged picture representing a martyrdom; its vivid hues were the most brilliant thing in the room. The man was dressed in brown; he had a long dark face and straight dull hair; from the roll of gold leaf on his knee he carefully and slowly gilded the devil.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1909
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685 people want to read
About the author
Marjorie Bowen
323 books80 followersMarjorie Bowen (pseudonym of Mrs Gabrielle Margaret V[ere] Long née Campbell), was a British author who wrote historical romances, supernatural horror stories, popular history and biography. Her total output numbers over 150 volumes with the bulk of her work under the 'Bowen' pseudonym. She also wrote under the names Joseph Shearing, George R. Preedy, John Winch, Robert Paye, and Margaret Campbell. As Joseph Shearing, she wrote several sinister gothic romances full of terror and mystery. Many of these stories were published as Berkley Medallion Books. Several of her books were adapted as films. Her books are much sought after by aficionados of gothic horror and received praise from critics.
Bowen's alcoholic father left the family at an early age and was eventually found dead on a London street. After this, Bowen's prolific writings were the chief financial support for her family. She was married twice: first, from 1912-16, to a Sicilian named Zefferino Emilio Constanza, who died of tuberculosis, and then to one Arthur L. Long. Her first novel was The Viper of Milan (1906), after which she produced a steady stream of writings until the day of her death on 23rd December 1952. Her last, posthumous, novel was The Man with the Scales (1954).
Bowen's alcoholic father left the family at an early age and was eventually found dead on a London street. After this, Bowen's prolific writings were the chief financial support for her family. She was married twice: first, from 1912-16, to a Sicilian named Zefferino Emilio Constanza, who died of tuberculosis, and then to one Arthur L. Long. Her first novel was The Viper of Milan (1906), after which she produced a steady stream of writings until the day of her death on 23rd December 1952. Her last, posthumous, novel was The Man with the Scales (1954).
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March 13, 2021What a ride. A pulp occult novel with a rip roaring 'antichrist sells soul to devil, does evils' plot, and an absolutely fascinating lot of stuff on gender, queerness, women's sexuality, redemption, and all. I'm going to spoiler from here even though this is from 1909 because I didn't see all the plot twists coming and thoroughly enjoyed the surprises.
The writing is purple, there's a few racist lines and a lot of religious stuff, obviously, and certes the cod medieval language is painful. But it's a fascinating read with a hugely enjoyable plot and a fascinating set of attitudes for 1909, and as such streets ahead of most occult trash. And I should know.
The writing is purple, there's a few racist lines and a lot of religious stuff, obviously, and certes the cod medieval language is painful. But it's a fascinating read with a hugely enjoyable plot and a fascinating set of attitudes for 1909, and as such streets ahead of most occult trash. And I should know.
March 20, 2025
I don't think I'm such a bad guy. I feel pretty moral actually, a good partner and father--my son has even noted that I break his balls far less than most of his friends' dads so there's some actual testimony to my claims. So I hope you won't judge me too harshly when I say that I rooted for the villain with all my heart all the way through this super fun Gothic extravaganza. Too late to be a penny dreadful and too soon to emerge from the pulps, I think it's kind of remarkable that this novel, from 1909, exists at all. But I'm sure glad it does. So much fun. Like Paradise Lost it more or less proves that conflicted, regular old well-meaning people are cowardly, ignorant, and not to be trusted, but that the truly evil among us show great loyalty and commitment. Who wouldn't be Satan, treated as shabbily as he was by God, who wouldn't rebel and seek freedom from all that mamby-pamby priest talk? Not surprising to me this was written by a female author either, pitting all of the forces of otherness--gender, race, age, and sorcery--against all of the evils of a smug, immoral patriarchy and church. I found it blithely and deliciously subversive but maybe I missed the whole point. Well, probably. Also: great (ambiguous) ending!
January 9, 2022
The British publishing firm Sphere Books had a really wonderful thing going for itself back in the 1970s: a series of 45 books, both fiction and nonfiction, curated by the hugely popular English supernatural novelist Dennis Wheatley, and titled Dennis Wheatley's Library of the Occult. This reader had already experienced seven of these novels in the natural order of things, in other editions--titles such as Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" (1818), Bram Stoker's "Dracula" (1897), William Hope Hodgson's "The Ghost Pirates" (1909) and "Carnacki the Ghost Finder" (1913), Gaston Leroux' "The Phantom of the Opera" (1910), Guy Endore's "The Werewolf of Paris" (1933), and Jack Williamson's "Darker Than You Think" (1948)--and so was left with a good 38 titles in this series to choose from. As it turns out, however, it was fairly simple for me to decide where to go next, as Marjorie Bowen's renowned novel "Black Magic" (fittingly, Volume 13 in the series) is a book I've wanted to experience ever since reading a very laudatory review of it in Cawthorn & Moorcock's "Fantasy: The 100 Best Books." And it would seem that I did indeed choose well, as "Black Magic" has turned out to be, surprisingly, nothing less than my favorite read of 2021.
Marjorie Bowen, it will be remembered, was just one of the pseudonyms of the English author nee Margaret Gabrielle Vere Campbell Long, who published her first piece of historical fiction, the hugely popular novel "The Viper of Milan," in 1906, when she was only 21. From that year until the year of her passing, in 1952, she would ultimately come out with over 150 books--historical novels, mysteries, biographies, nonfiction and horror, under the Bowen pen name as well as the pseudonyms Joseph Shearing, George R. Preedy and Robert Paye. Her rate of production was fairly staggering; with the exceptions of 1946 and '48, she would release one to four books a year, for 47 years in a row! I have already written here of Bowen's marvelous short-story collection from 1949 entitled "The Bishop of Hell and Other Stories," which had only whetted my appetite for the novel in question. "Black Magic" was Bowen's sixth novel, released when the author was only 24. The book's first edition was thus released in 1909, by the British publisher Alston Rivers, as a handsome hardcover. Other hardcover editions would follow in 1912 and 1926; the Sphere paperback from 1974, the one I was fortunate enough to acquire, was the book's fourth incarnation in 65 years, and there have been a good half dozen other releases since. And so, the novel should pose no serious challenge to purchase today, and that is a very fortunate thing, as my recent reading has revealed the book to be a genuine stunner, indeed.
"Black Magic" is set in the Europe of the Middle Ages; pinning down a precise date is impossible based on the information that we are given, but passing references to St. Angela, the Colonna family, and Teresa of Avila would make an argument for the 16th century. As the book opens in the ravaged town of Antwerp, we are introduced to two young men, the boyish Dirk Renswoude and the impossibly good-looking Theirry of Dendermonde. The two have met by chance and sense that they have something in common: They are both neophyte dabblers in the occult sciences. Wishing to improve their skills, the two men begin a course of study at the university in Basle, but must flee for their lives after accidentally killing a fellow student with one of their supernatural spells. The pair finds shelter in the nearby castle of the noblewoman Jacobea of Martzburg, a ward of the emperor in Frankfort. Theirry, who has had doubts about the evil path he has entered in on, is fairly smitten with the beautiful noblewoman, rousing Dirk to seemingly unreasonable jealousy, and indeed, the relationship between the two is decidedly of the homoerotic (albeit platonic) variety. Dirk and Theirry set out once again, robbing and almost killing the saintly monk Ambrose before arriving in Frankfort, where they reside at the home of a witch named Nathalie. (Contrary to expectations, Nathalie is not a withered old crone, but rather, a plain-featured, middle-aged woman.) In that imperial city, Dirk continues to master the dark arts, and Theirry takes a job at the emperor's palace, a job procured for him by Jacobea. Meanwhile, the ever-jealous Dirk engages in two nefarious campaigns. First, he gives assistance to the empress Ysabeau, who knows of Dirk's background and who now blackmails him into helping her murder her husband, the scholarly emperor Melchoir, hoping to make the handsome knight Balthasar her new mate in his stead. And if this weren't enough to keep Dirk busy, he also hatches a scheme to make his rival, Jacobea, look a lot less saintly in Theirry's eyes; namely, he bewitches her and compels her to tell her steward, Sebastian, to slay his wife, Sybilla, so that the two of them might be together. What follows, thus, are some truly horrendous episodes, indeed, leading to an estrangement between the two former friends.
In the second section of Bowen's book, the action picks up 10 years later, in Rome. The penitent Theirry has been wandering throughout Europe and Asia during that time, seeking forgiveness for his previous sins, and arrives in the Eternal City to crave absolution from one of Rome's holiest men, the Cardinal Luigi Caprarola. To his appalled disbelief, Theirry discovers that this holy man of God is none other than his old running mate Dirk, who has changed his identity (hardly for the first time), his hair color, his garb...but hardly his evil ways. Indeed, Dirk has decided that he craves nothing less than the papacy itself, and soon concocts still another of his wicked schemes; a scheme to remove Balthasar from power and set Theirry up in his place! Theirry himself has now decided that God must be nonexistent--how else to explain Dirk's rising to such wondrous power?--and so reluctantly opts to go along with his former friend. And this only sets the stage for Rome turning into a demon-haunted, plague-stricken, almost literal Hell on Earth....
Now, for some obscure reason, Clute & Grant's "Encyclopedia of Fantasy" would have us believe that "Black Magic" is "a rather shallow novel," a pronouncement that I just cannot understand. Of course, that statement is more than counterbalanced by Cawthorn & Moorcock selecting the book for inclusion on their 100 Best list; by Fritz Leiber, one of this reader's favorite fantasy authors, calling the novel "brilliant"; and by Dennis Wheatley, who, in his introduction to this Sphere edition, uses such words as "thrilling," "hair-raising" and "a great tour de force" to describe it. Personally, I found the book to be absolutely remarkable. Every one of the book's 35 chapters contains either a fascinating discussion utilizing wonderful dialogue, an astonishing plot development, a shocking event, some shuddery supernatural detail, or an intensely dramatic confrontation. This really is an expertly controlled piece of work; readers will be stunned to recall that its creator was only 24 when she wrote it. One of the most accomplished authors of historical fiction in her generation, Bowen had already done enough in-depth research to give even this macabre work of the supernatural a patina of verisimilitude. Whereas another writer might have described a woman's dress as being made of silk, here, the ladies are shown to be wearing gowns of samite or sendal. Theirry doesn't just toss a coin to a dancing girl, but a silver bezant. Sybilla doesn't crave absolution, but rather hopes to be "assoiled." Castles don't have turrets on them, but instead, tourelles. Bats are called flittermice; what to us would be the Colosseum is instead more convincingly called the Flavian Amphitheatre; and Crete is called by its ancient name, the isle of Candy. The complicated rites of the medieval Church are realistically set forth, and Bowen also evinces a sure knowledge of the geography and byways of 16th century Rome. As for her wonderful use of dialogue that I just mentioned, it is rendered in what I can only call a faux medieval diction, and the author can with all fairness be accused of overusing the words "belike," "certes" and "wot." Bowen's book has atmosphere to spare, though, and the reader will surely find it a tale of the distant past that, despite its outre content, is somehow convincingly told. And, oh, how the homoerotic nature of Dirk and Theirry's relationship must have shocked the readers of a century ago, added as it is to the other shocking events in this book!
"Black Magic" earns its place of honor on any Best Of Fantasy list despite the fact that Bowen keeps the actual supernatural events to a minimum, spacing them wisely throughout for maximum impact. Among the best of those bits: the two young novices utilizing a mystical mirror to peer into their future; Dirk and Theirry's slaying of their fellow student in Basle; a bust of bronze that gives advice from Zerdusht (Zoroaster) himself; a hideous winged woman that Theirry espies in Dirk's workroom; a gigantic black man (a "Blackamoor") and his hound from hell, who visit Dirk while the ebon giant roasts his legs for warmth in a fireplace; the spectacle of Rome under the shadow of the Antichrist, besieged by "magicians, warlocks...and all manner of strange and hideous creatures"; the fact that four of the deceased main characters (this book does have a fairly high body count) return as angels; the thing that Dirk is ultimately revealed to be; and, of course, the very notion of a living Antichrist itself (the subtitle of this novel IS "A Tale of the Rise and Fall of the Antichrist"). And Bowen likewise peppers her novel with some hugely memorable scenes of high drama, including Dirk and Theirry's panicked escape from Basle; the robbing of the saintly Ambrose; the murders of Melchoir and Sybilla; and Dirk and Theirry's initial reunion in Rome. Bowen's story is at times brutal and always unpredictable; a tale in which the most innocent may be doomed to die hideously, and a murderer may get away scot-free. I found the book to be absolutely unputdownable, and the evenings that I spent with it were very pleasant ones for me.
I have very few complaints to lodge against Ms. Bowen's work here, actually, and those two are barely worth mentioning. But here goes: In Rome, the footstool in Cardinal Caprarola's chamber is said to be made of silver; three pages later, it is said to be made of ivory. I know, I know...who cares, right? More vexing for me, however, is the ambiguity of the final few pages of the book. Without giving away the story's most central surprise (which is actually telegraphed several times leading up to the big reveal), let me just say that I wish we could have learned a bit more about Dirk's background, and his, uh, unusual nature. But again, these are quibbles that in no way prevent me from giving Ms. Bowen's work the highest grade possible here.
For fans of historical fiction, or horror, or fantasy, this novel should prove absolutely scrumptious. Other readers are urged to give it a try and prepare themselves for a truly extraordinary experience. As for me, there are at least four other volumes in the Wheatley Library of the Occult that I am highly desirous of experiencing soon; titles such as F. Marion Crawford's "The Witch of Prague" (1890), Robert Hugh Benson's "The Necromancers" (1909), J. W. Brodie-Innes' "The Devil's Mistress" (1915), and Aleister Crowley's "Moonchild" (1929). Wish me luck as I endeavor to track them down, and let's hope that they're all at least half as gripping as Marjorie Bowen's "Black Magic"....
(By the way, this review originally appeared on the FanLit website at http://www.fantasyliterature.com/ ... a most ideal destination for all fans of Marjorie Bowen....)
Marjorie Bowen, it will be remembered, was just one of the pseudonyms of the English author nee Margaret Gabrielle Vere Campbell Long, who published her first piece of historical fiction, the hugely popular novel "The Viper of Milan," in 1906, when she was only 21. From that year until the year of her passing, in 1952, she would ultimately come out with over 150 books--historical novels, mysteries, biographies, nonfiction and horror, under the Bowen pen name as well as the pseudonyms Joseph Shearing, George R. Preedy and Robert Paye. Her rate of production was fairly staggering; with the exceptions of 1946 and '48, she would release one to four books a year, for 47 years in a row! I have already written here of Bowen's marvelous short-story collection from 1949 entitled "The Bishop of Hell and Other Stories," which had only whetted my appetite for the novel in question. "Black Magic" was Bowen's sixth novel, released when the author was only 24. The book's first edition was thus released in 1909, by the British publisher Alston Rivers, as a handsome hardcover. Other hardcover editions would follow in 1912 and 1926; the Sphere paperback from 1974, the one I was fortunate enough to acquire, was the book's fourth incarnation in 65 years, and there have been a good half dozen other releases since. And so, the novel should pose no serious challenge to purchase today, and that is a very fortunate thing, as my recent reading has revealed the book to be a genuine stunner, indeed.
"Black Magic" is set in the Europe of the Middle Ages; pinning down a precise date is impossible based on the information that we are given, but passing references to St. Angela, the Colonna family, and Teresa of Avila would make an argument for the 16th century. As the book opens in the ravaged town of Antwerp, we are introduced to two young men, the boyish Dirk Renswoude and the impossibly good-looking Theirry of Dendermonde. The two have met by chance and sense that they have something in common: They are both neophyte dabblers in the occult sciences. Wishing to improve their skills, the two men begin a course of study at the university in Basle, but must flee for their lives after accidentally killing a fellow student with one of their supernatural spells. The pair finds shelter in the nearby castle of the noblewoman Jacobea of Martzburg, a ward of the emperor in Frankfort. Theirry, who has had doubts about the evil path he has entered in on, is fairly smitten with the beautiful noblewoman, rousing Dirk to seemingly unreasonable jealousy, and indeed, the relationship between the two is decidedly of the homoerotic (albeit platonic) variety. Dirk and Theirry set out once again, robbing and almost killing the saintly monk Ambrose before arriving in Frankfort, where they reside at the home of a witch named Nathalie. (Contrary to expectations, Nathalie is not a withered old crone, but rather, a plain-featured, middle-aged woman.) In that imperial city, Dirk continues to master the dark arts, and Theirry takes a job at the emperor's palace, a job procured for him by Jacobea. Meanwhile, the ever-jealous Dirk engages in two nefarious campaigns. First, he gives assistance to the empress Ysabeau, who knows of Dirk's background and who now blackmails him into helping her murder her husband, the scholarly emperor Melchoir, hoping to make the handsome knight Balthasar her new mate in his stead. And if this weren't enough to keep Dirk busy, he also hatches a scheme to make his rival, Jacobea, look a lot less saintly in Theirry's eyes; namely, he bewitches her and compels her to tell her steward, Sebastian, to slay his wife, Sybilla, so that the two of them might be together. What follows, thus, are some truly horrendous episodes, indeed, leading to an estrangement between the two former friends.
In the second section of Bowen's book, the action picks up 10 years later, in Rome. The penitent Theirry has been wandering throughout Europe and Asia during that time, seeking forgiveness for his previous sins, and arrives in the Eternal City to crave absolution from one of Rome's holiest men, the Cardinal Luigi Caprarola. To his appalled disbelief, Theirry discovers that this holy man of God is none other than his old running mate Dirk, who has changed his identity (hardly for the first time), his hair color, his garb...but hardly his evil ways. Indeed, Dirk has decided that he craves nothing less than the papacy itself, and soon concocts still another of his wicked schemes; a scheme to remove Balthasar from power and set Theirry up in his place! Theirry himself has now decided that God must be nonexistent--how else to explain Dirk's rising to such wondrous power?--and so reluctantly opts to go along with his former friend. And this only sets the stage for Rome turning into a demon-haunted, plague-stricken, almost literal Hell on Earth....
Now, for some obscure reason, Clute & Grant's "Encyclopedia of Fantasy" would have us believe that "Black Magic" is "a rather shallow novel," a pronouncement that I just cannot understand. Of course, that statement is more than counterbalanced by Cawthorn & Moorcock selecting the book for inclusion on their 100 Best list; by Fritz Leiber, one of this reader's favorite fantasy authors, calling the novel "brilliant"; and by Dennis Wheatley, who, in his introduction to this Sphere edition, uses such words as "thrilling," "hair-raising" and "a great tour de force" to describe it. Personally, I found the book to be absolutely remarkable. Every one of the book's 35 chapters contains either a fascinating discussion utilizing wonderful dialogue, an astonishing plot development, a shocking event, some shuddery supernatural detail, or an intensely dramatic confrontation. This really is an expertly controlled piece of work; readers will be stunned to recall that its creator was only 24 when she wrote it. One of the most accomplished authors of historical fiction in her generation, Bowen had already done enough in-depth research to give even this macabre work of the supernatural a patina of verisimilitude. Whereas another writer might have described a woman's dress as being made of silk, here, the ladies are shown to be wearing gowns of samite or sendal. Theirry doesn't just toss a coin to a dancing girl, but a silver bezant. Sybilla doesn't crave absolution, but rather hopes to be "assoiled." Castles don't have turrets on them, but instead, tourelles. Bats are called flittermice; what to us would be the Colosseum is instead more convincingly called the Flavian Amphitheatre; and Crete is called by its ancient name, the isle of Candy. The complicated rites of the medieval Church are realistically set forth, and Bowen also evinces a sure knowledge of the geography and byways of 16th century Rome. As for her wonderful use of dialogue that I just mentioned, it is rendered in what I can only call a faux medieval diction, and the author can with all fairness be accused of overusing the words "belike," "certes" and "wot." Bowen's book has atmosphere to spare, though, and the reader will surely find it a tale of the distant past that, despite its outre content, is somehow convincingly told. And, oh, how the homoerotic nature of Dirk and Theirry's relationship must have shocked the readers of a century ago, added as it is to the other shocking events in this book!
"Black Magic" earns its place of honor on any Best Of Fantasy list despite the fact that Bowen keeps the actual supernatural events to a minimum, spacing them wisely throughout for maximum impact. Among the best of those bits: the two young novices utilizing a mystical mirror to peer into their future; Dirk and Theirry's slaying of their fellow student in Basle; a bust of bronze that gives advice from Zerdusht (Zoroaster) himself; a hideous winged woman that Theirry espies in Dirk's workroom; a gigantic black man (a "Blackamoor") and his hound from hell, who visit Dirk while the ebon giant roasts his legs for warmth in a fireplace; the spectacle of Rome under the shadow of the Antichrist, besieged by "magicians, warlocks...and all manner of strange and hideous creatures"; the fact that four of the deceased main characters (this book does have a fairly high body count) return as angels; the thing that Dirk is ultimately revealed to be; and, of course, the very notion of a living Antichrist itself (the subtitle of this novel IS "A Tale of the Rise and Fall of the Antichrist"). And Bowen likewise peppers her novel with some hugely memorable scenes of high drama, including Dirk and Theirry's panicked escape from Basle; the robbing of the saintly Ambrose; the murders of Melchoir and Sybilla; and Dirk and Theirry's initial reunion in Rome. Bowen's story is at times brutal and always unpredictable; a tale in which the most innocent may be doomed to die hideously, and a murderer may get away scot-free. I found the book to be absolutely unputdownable, and the evenings that I spent with it were very pleasant ones for me.
I have very few complaints to lodge against Ms. Bowen's work here, actually, and those two are barely worth mentioning. But here goes: In Rome, the footstool in Cardinal Caprarola's chamber is said to be made of silver; three pages later, it is said to be made of ivory. I know, I know...who cares, right? More vexing for me, however, is the ambiguity of the final few pages of the book. Without giving away the story's most central surprise (which is actually telegraphed several times leading up to the big reveal), let me just say that I wish we could have learned a bit more about Dirk's background, and his, uh, unusual nature. But again, these are quibbles that in no way prevent me from giving Ms. Bowen's work the highest grade possible here.
For fans of historical fiction, or horror, or fantasy, this novel should prove absolutely scrumptious. Other readers are urged to give it a try and prepare themselves for a truly extraordinary experience. As for me, there are at least four other volumes in the Wheatley Library of the Occult that I am highly desirous of experiencing soon; titles such as F. Marion Crawford's "The Witch of Prague" (1890), Robert Hugh Benson's "The Necromancers" (1909), J. W. Brodie-Innes' "The Devil's Mistress" (1915), and Aleister Crowley's "Moonchild" (1929). Wish me luck as I endeavor to track them down, and let's hope that they're all at least half as gripping as Marjorie Bowen's "Black Magic"....
(By the way, this review originally appeared on the FanLit website at http://www.fantasyliterature.com/ ... a most ideal destination for all fans of Marjorie Bowen....)
September 9, 2012
I am not a very emotional person by nature, but I was quite thrilled with this book. Let me convey my thoughts as orderly and coherently as I can:
Demons! Spells! Satanic rituals! Ultra-Gothic atmosphere! Papal corruption! Violent thunderstorms! Love triangles! Ghosts and witches! Medieval opulence! Gruesome violence! Good vs. evil! Comets! THE ANTICHRIST!
Simply put, this book was nauseatingly grim, but awesome. Flat-out, straight-up awesome.
Demons! Spells! Satanic rituals! Ultra-Gothic atmosphere! Papal corruption! Violent thunderstorms! Love triangles! Ghosts and witches! Medieval opulence! Gruesome violence! Good vs. evil! Comets! THE ANTICHRIST!
Simply put, this book was nauseatingly grim, but awesome. Flat-out, straight-up awesome.
October 9, 2021
Year of New Authors
The nobleman Balthasar searches for Ursula, the wife he'd long presumed dead. Briefly accompanied by a young stray of high birth named Theirry, they discover Dirk, a ludicrously handsome, cold scholar of the dark arts, who claims to be Ursala's second husband before her untimely death. Satisfied he is free to persue better matches, Balthasar leaves, but Theirry does not, finding himself enthralled by the unholy talents of the enigmatic Dirk, and thus begins a harrowing adventure of black magic, demons, regicide and the threat of apocalyptic calamaties.
This is decadent Gothic bingo, or a miasma, a Smörgåsbord, or just plain, glorious clusterfuck. We have murder, bigamy, corrupted religion, dark pits, plagues, gender bending and femme fatales. We also fail to have a single paragon character, and even our later 'avenging' protagonists have their own bloody skeletons in the closet. It's a novel of anti-heroes and very compelling ones at that, where we want to put killings and deception aside in the bare hope of an impossible happy ending.
There is a 'twist', which is announced in ten foot high neon letters decorated with bells and girthy willies within the first few pages; so obvious that Bowen doesn't attempt to hide the truth of what or who Dirk could be, adding the potential revealing of that secret to the tension of the plot.
This is a thick and oozing tale of every possible sin and horror Bowen could shoe horn into to its 300 pages, and makes for one wonderful and miserably fun read that is perfect for the spooky season.
The nobleman Balthasar searches for Ursula, the wife he'd long presumed dead. Briefly accompanied by a young stray of high birth named Theirry, they discover Dirk, a ludicrously handsome, cold scholar of the dark arts, who claims to be Ursala's second husband before her untimely death. Satisfied he is free to persue better matches, Balthasar leaves, but Theirry does not, finding himself enthralled by the unholy talents of the enigmatic Dirk, and thus begins a harrowing adventure of black magic, demons, regicide and the threat of apocalyptic calamaties.
This is decadent Gothic bingo, or a miasma, a Smörgåsbord, or just plain, glorious clusterfuck. We have murder, bigamy, corrupted religion, dark pits, plagues, gender bending and femme fatales. We also fail to have a single paragon character, and even our later 'avenging' protagonists have their own bloody skeletons in the closet. It's a novel of anti-heroes and very compelling ones at that, where we want to put killings and deception aside in the bare hope of an impossible happy ending.
There is a 'twist', which is announced in ten foot high neon letters decorated with bells and girthy willies within the first few pages; so obvious that Bowen doesn't attempt to hide the truth of what or who Dirk could be, adding the potential revealing of that secret to the tension of the plot.
This is a thick and oozing tale of every possible sin and horror Bowen could shoe horn into to its 300 pages, and makes for one wonderful and miserably fun read that is perfect for the spooky season.
May 14, 2020
On its surface, Black Magic appears to be your standard Gothic novel with a medieval setting, creepy Catholicism, witches and the occult, thunderstorms, doomed love, and whatnot. There is a surprising twist, however, in that Dirk Renswoude - eventual Antichrist and Satanic Pope - is also Ursula of Rooselaare. From a modern perspective it is easy to read Dirk as a trans man, especially since Bowen continues to use male pronouns after his former identity is revealed. On the other hand, adopting a male guise is the only way for a woman of this era to have a career in academia, politics, and the Church. Dirk's backstory, by everyone's admission, is one of a girl being forced into an unwanted marriage despite her desire to live as a nun. There is really something to be said about an AFAB person who turns to the forces of evil when the Good Guys would deny this person agency and independence. Indeed, for all his crimes, Dirk is not a sociopath: he risks everything for the man he loves and is genuinely broken-hearted when he cannot save his father from execution. His character is ultimately tragic, and there is little of the usual satisfaction one experiences upon the demise of such a powerful villain.
Published in 1909, I imagine Black Magic must have raised some eyebrows. Dirk as a trans man introduces a queer element to his passionate friendship with Thierry, who never stops to question why exactly his BFF is so jealous of Jacobea, a noblewoman Thierry falls in love with. Both Jacobea and Ysabeau, the two main female characters, are portrayed as three-dimensional human beings rather than simply the femme fatale and the untouchable angel. Under Dirk's influence, Jacobea convinces the man she loves to kill his wife yet does not marry him and spends the rest of her life in quiet repentance. Ysabeau is introduced as a cold-blooded schemer and murderess, yet eventually becomes quite sympathetic and even downright heroic, and gets a happy ending despite also living for years in bigamy (albeit unknowingly).
For many readers Black Magic certainly fulfilled its purpose as a thriller utilizing familiar tropes dating back to Horace Walpole and Ann Radcliffe. But its use of gender is unique and highly thought-provoking. Author Bowen wrote under male pseudonyms and had her first novel, The Viper of Man, rejected by publishers as inappropriate for a young woman to have written, so I do not think this was unintentional.
Published in 1909, I imagine Black Magic must have raised some eyebrows. Dirk as a trans man introduces a queer element to his passionate friendship with Thierry, who never stops to question why exactly his BFF is so jealous of Jacobea, a noblewoman Thierry falls in love with. Both Jacobea and Ysabeau, the two main female characters, are portrayed as three-dimensional human beings rather than simply the femme fatale and the untouchable angel. Under Dirk's influence, Jacobea convinces the man she loves to kill his wife yet does not marry him and spends the rest of her life in quiet repentance. Ysabeau is introduced as a cold-blooded schemer and murderess, yet eventually becomes quite sympathetic and even downright heroic, and gets a happy ending despite also living for years in bigamy (albeit unknowingly).
For many readers Black Magic certainly fulfilled its purpose as a thriller utilizing familiar tropes dating back to Horace Walpole and Ann Radcliffe. But its use of gender is unique and highly thought-provoking. Author Bowen wrote under male pseudonyms and had her first novel, The Viper of Man, rejected by publishers as inappropriate for a young woman to have written, so I do not think this was unintentional.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 13, 2025
Chato para kct!
...mas gay...
...mas gay...
January 28, 2016
Black Magic begins with this ominous first line: 'In the large room of a house in a certain quiet city in Flanders, a man was guilding a devil'.
That person is Dirk Renswoude, a craftsman and loner of noble birth who has been mistreated in some unspecified way by his family. He meets Thierry, a young scholar on his way to study at the university at Basle and they soon discover that they have a shared fascination with the black arts.
However, Thierry is is initially cautious and afraid of blasphemy, whilst Dirk is ambitious to be "as great as the Master we serve can make his followers" and thirsts for power. Dirk leads them on to experiments with mystic circles drawn on the floor in chalk, the chanting of arcane incantations and the evocation of grotesque, demonic visions writhing in the speculum.
Thierry still wavers, but when their experiments lead to murder the die is cast for both of them.
In Black Magic, Marjorie Bowen wrote a twisty tale with a wicked secret in its heart and some decent scenes of an almost dreamlike quality. Most effective is Thierry's meeting with the much tormented heroine of the tale, Jacobea of Martzburg, holding a dead bird in her hand by a stream in front of a castle.
Also good is a temptation scene in a lush forest between Dirk and Jacobea, and a sickening sight beheld by Thierry in the back room of Dirk's lodgings in Frankfurt.
Traversing most of continental europe in what I took to be sometime before 1000AD, the story does provide a suitably tragic ending after a well worked out plot which is both dark and risky (for its time) in places.
But ultimately it's let down by too much clunkily formalized speech (e.g. "That will not I") and an irritating overuse of the archaic affirmative "Certes!" which must have been exclaimed fifty times or more.
That person is Dirk Renswoude, a craftsman and loner of noble birth who has been mistreated in some unspecified way by his family. He meets Thierry, a young scholar on his way to study at the university at Basle and they soon discover that they have a shared fascination with the black arts.
However, Thierry is is initially cautious and afraid of blasphemy, whilst Dirk is ambitious to be "as great as the Master we serve can make his followers" and thirsts for power. Dirk leads them on to experiments with mystic circles drawn on the floor in chalk, the chanting of arcane incantations and the evocation of grotesque, demonic visions writhing in the speculum.
Thierry still wavers, but when their experiments lead to murder the die is cast for both of them.
In Black Magic, Marjorie Bowen wrote a twisty tale with a wicked secret in its heart and some decent scenes of an almost dreamlike quality. Most effective is Thierry's meeting with the much tormented heroine of the tale, Jacobea of Martzburg, holding a dead bird in her hand by a stream in front of a castle.
Also good is a temptation scene in a lush forest between Dirk and Jacobea, and a sickening sight beheld by Thierry in the back room of Dirk's lodgings in Frankfurt.
Traversing most of continental europe in what I took to be sometime before 1000AD, the story does provide a suitably tragic ending after a well worked out plot which is both dark and risky (for its time) in places.
But ultimately it's let down by too much clunkily formalized speech (e.g. "That will not I") and an irritating overuse of the archaic affirmative "Certes!" which must have been exclaimed fifty times or more.
April 5, 2019
I can't believe this is not better known az a gothic masterpiece... Astounding.
Read
December 8, 2023That twist!
May 16, 2021
Set in a medieval setting, two friends venture into the curiosities of the black arts. This Gothic novel as such delves into the world of the occult, witches, ghosts, and magic itself. Not to mention, of course, pacts with the Devil. Avoiding spoilers though, this book was certainly published before its time when taking a good look at the themes involved. Certainly not a bad thing at all, and it was actually very nice to see. It was simply surprising. Anyway…
Anyone who has been following my reading tendencies lately will know that I have been very much into magic, witches, and darker themes. Horror, Gothic, magic, middle ages, on top of everything else involved here? Of course a book like this would have my attention. Reading through more of the reviews, it seemed even more promising. So many readers raved about the excellence of this novel, talks of how wonderfully dark the story itself is… How could I say no to all this? It all sounded like it was right up my alley!
I got through about the first quarter of this book before I gave up on it and had to put it down. I’m not sure if it was the narrative, the dialogue, flow, or something else, but it just wasn’t holding my attention. It was disappointing because I was definitely pulled in by the premise, but I just couldn’t keep reading it. I hate to say this, but I was unfortunately a bit bored. It just couldn’t hold my interest. It sucks because I thought the rise and fall of the Antichrist would be right up my alley.
I will say, however, that I enjoyed the description of setting and the characters involved for the amount I got through, at least. There was also the use of very old speech and slang that was a nice touch, even if it was sometimes a little bit too much. It had a nice dark and Gothic feel to it as well.
Although I wasn’t the biggest fan of this particular story, I may give this author another chance in the future.
Anyone who has been following my reading tendencies lately will know that I have been very much into magic, witches, and darker themes. Horror, Gothic, magic, middle ages, on top of everything else involved here? Of course a book like this would have my attention. Reading through more of the reviews, it seemed even more promising. So many readers raved about the excellence of this novel, talks of how wonderfully dark the story itself is… How could I say no to all this? It all sounded like it was right up my alley!
I got through about the first quarter of this book before I gave up on it and had to put it down. I’m not sure if it was the narrative, the dialogue, flow, or something else, but it just wasn’t holding my attention. It was disappointing because I was definitely pulled in by the premise, but I just couldn’t keep reading it. I hate to say this, but I was unfortunately a bit bored. It just couldn’t hold my interest. It sucks because I thought the rise and fall of the Antichrist would be right up my alley.
I will say, however, that I enjoyed the description of setting and the characters involved for the amount I got through, at least. There was also the use of very old speech and slang that was a nice touch, even if it was sometimes a little bit too much. It had a nice dark and Gothic feel to it as well.
Although I wasn’t the biggest fan of this particular story, I may give this author another chance in the future.
May 18, 2021
Absolutely loved this. Honestly if it was a modern book I could easily see myself giving it 5 stars but the writing style of someone in the early 1900s trying to halfway imitate people from the 1400s [if I never see the word Certes! again it will be too soon] made it just difficult enough to parse some things that I feel more comfortable giving it 4 stars instead. If you like demons, religious imagery, and classic books with queer themes then I would definitely recommend picking this up because I was honestly surprised just how much the author did with it considering when it was written. If you want more detailed plot spoilers I would go check out this review since I think it has a pretty accurate account of things.
November 9, 2021
Black Magic is set in the Middle Ages, but a specific time frame therein is not really specified. All of the characters of the novel are fictitious including the Popes & Emperors. But for all that, the writer paints a picture of 2 youths who are bound together, one of whom, Dirk Renswoude, has sworn allegiance to the Devil in return for worldly power, wealth & glory. The plot revolves how he and his sometime companion and friend, Theirry, go about getting it, using black magic. With Satan helping them, what could go wrong?
November 22, 2018
Like with the other novels I’ve read by this author, “Black Magic” features numerous quality scenes with a good plot, but at times the narrative reads too slow, plus the way the syntax is mixed-up to make the dialogue more authentic is irritating. At times it’s hard to understand.
On the whole, though, this is an enjoyable read, with high suspense, good characterisation, and vivid descriptive passages. The horror and supernatural elements are handled well, though some scenes are tame compared to today’s standards.
So not a classic, but certainly worth reading.
On the whole, though, this is an enjoyable read, with high suspense, good characterisation, and vivid descriptive passages. The horror and supernatural elements are handled well, though some scenes are tame compared to today’s standards.
So not a classic, but certainly worth reading.
July 11, 2014
Very good plot and well developed characters. The 'secret' is really well done! Holds the interest of the reader even after more than a century...
July 21, 2019
This book was way ahead of its time. A great mix of fantasy and horror set in Medieval Times.
February 3, 2022
The blurb for this novel says it all really, so I trust you will forgive the, hopefully not too major, spoilers that are part of my comments on this book.
The central figures are Dirk Renswoude who begins the novel as an artisan creating religious statues but is also a very able occultist/Satanist and a young scholar Thierry of Dendermonde who is also studying the black arts. They decide to join forces to use Satanism to achieve their ambitions.
There relationship is extremely homo-erotic. Bowen expends quite a lot of ink on just how beautiful these boys are, lingering over their beautiful features and lovely clothes. Dirk has an utter will to power but seemingly will not achieve this without the companionship of Thierry who, for his part is continually swearing allegence to Dirk and his plans but has agonies over whether he should be involved in black magic in the first place and his desire for the beautiful (and pure) Jacobea of Martzburg. This element of the book became wearying for me as no sooner would the boys have an argument over whether they should continue working together (Dirk usually convincing Thierry that Jacobea is a distraction and to forsake her- or else) than Thierry is off meeting her again whining on to her about how impure he is and if only he could be nice again. He really is a terrible wet blanket, but love, and destiny, are odd things.
The most interesting of the secondary players is Ysabeau, a noble with ruthless ambition for her and her husband to become rulers of the western world and who recruits Dirk to further her cause. She is pretty much the only woman (aside from a witch who aides Dirk but is quite a minor character) who has some sort of backbone. There is a lot of to-ing and fro-ing between various characters, murder, bribery, double crossing and the like, almost everyone has something to hide and is scheming in some way. The novel is very much in the style of a gothic romance, Matthew Lewis’ ‘The Monk’ or Le Fanus’s Uncle Silas’ being the touchstones.
A lot of the above happens during the first two thirds of the book and although we do have some Black Magic ceremonies, witchcraft and Saint abuse it is more suggested than writ out in bold ala Huysmans. I would much have preferred a bit more blood and thunder, although there is a wonderful subtle and atmospheric encounter with the Devil which, had all the book been written in that manner would have made it superb. I also found it quite difficult to get into stylistically, something (I don’t know what) in Bowen’s writing drags it down for me. Its not aided by her use of some ‘olde’ words such the ubiquitous ‘ye’, ‘yea’ and the more unusual ‘certes’ for ‘certainly’. We also have the odd phrasing such as ‘That will not I’ for ‘that I will not [do] ’. There are thankfully sparingly used (except ‘certes’) but are seemingly randomly used (as if she had forgotten she was using them for a few chapeters and then decided to drop some in) so their, unwelcome, re-appearances tended to jolt me away from the narrative.
I found the first two-thirds a tad tedious at times but things perk up considerably in the final third of the book which is set ten years later in Rome where we find Dirk is is now a Catholic Cardinal and about to ascend to the Papal throne. These are the End Times and there are a lot of scenes backdropped by lowering clouds and thunderstorms just like a good Universal horror film such as Frankenstein. If you like such things (I do) then this is great stuff as chickens come home to roost, everything begins to fall apart and the body count starts to rises. The scenes in the streets of Rome are especially well done (but too sparingly) and Bowen finds some touches to create the right atmosphere of fear and dread. Even the wet blanket dries out a bit. If you are charitable you might say that the end (of the book) justifies its earlier means. If one didn't have to have read the first part of the novel to understand the second I would have said 'just cut to the chase' and enjoy its air of despondency. Sadly I can't.
Bowen makes clear (at least to me) who, or what, Dirk is but there is also a glorious ambiguity within it which might, possibly, be why it has maintained a certain interest in some quarters. But I think the book as a whole is overrated. Perhaps if I didn’t have issues with her style I would have enjoyed it more but if you (like me) prefer atmosphere and action over (pah!) emotions and (pah!) romance then maybe look elsewhere for your Satanic kicks.
The central figures are Dirk Renswoude who begins the novel as an artisan creating religious statues but is also a very able occultist/Satanist and a young scholar Thierry of Dendermonde who is also studying the black arts. They decide to join forces to use Satanism to achieve their ambitions.
There relationship is extremely homo-erotic. Bowen expends quite a lot of ink on just how beautiful these boys are, lingering over their beautiful features and lovely clothes. Dirk has an utter will to power but seemingly will not achieve this without the companionship of Thierry who, for his part is continually swearing allegence to Dirk and his plans but has agonies over whether he should be involved in black magic in the first place and his desire for the beautiful (and pure) Jacobea of Martzburg. This element of the book became wearying for me as no sooner would the boys have an argument over whether they should continue working together (Dirk usually convincing Thierry that Jacobea is a distraction and to forsake her- or else) than Thierry is off meeting her again whining on to her about how impure he is and if only he could be nice again. He really is a terrible wet blanket, but love, and destiny, are odd things.
The most interesting of the secondary players is Ysabeau, a noble with ruthless ambition for her and her husband to become rulers of the western world and who recruits Dirk to further her cause. She is pretty much the only woman (aside from a witch who aides Dirk but is quite a minor character) who has some sort of backbone. There is a lot of to-ing and fro-ing between various characters, murder, bribery, double crossing and the like, almost everyone has something to hide and is scheming in some way. The novel is very much in the style of a gothic romance, Matthew Lewis’ ‘The Monk’ or Le Fanus’s Uncle Silas’ being the touchstones.
A lot of the above happens during the first two thirds of the book and although we do have some Black Magic ceremonies, witchcraft and Saint abuse it is more suggested than writ out in bold ala Huysmans. I would much have preferred a bit more blood and thunder, although there is a wonderful subtle and atmospheric encounter with the Devil which, had all the book been written in that manner would have made it superb. I also found it quite difficult to get into stylistically, something (I don’t know what) in Bowen’s writing drags it down for me. Its not aided by her use of some ‘olde’ words such the ubiquitous ‘ye’, ‘yea’ and the more unusual ‘certes’ for ‘certainly’. We also have the odd phrasing such as ‘That will not I’ for ‘that I will not [do] ’. There are thankfully sparingly used (except ‘certes’) but are seemingly randomly used (as if she had forgotten she was using them for a few chapeters and then decided to drop some in) so their, unwelcome, re-appearances tended to jolt me away from the narrative.
I found the first two-thirds a tad tedious at times but things perk up considerably in the final third of the book which is set ten years later in Rome where we find Dirk is is now a Catholic Cardinal and about to ascend to the Papal throne. These are the End Times and there are a lot of scenes backdropped by lowering clouds and thunderstorms just like a good Universal horror film such as Frankenstein. If you like such things (I do) then this is great stuff as chickens come home to roost, everything begins to fall apart and the body count starts to rises. The scenes in the streets of Rome are especially well done (but too sparingly) and Bowen finds some touches to create the right atmosphere of fear and dread. Even the wet blanket dries out a bit. If you are charitable you might say that the end (of the book) justifies its earlier means. If one didn't have to have read the first part of the novel to understand the second I would have said 'just cut to the chase' and enjoy its air of despondency. Sadly I can't.
Bowen makes clear (at least to me) who, or what, Dirk is but there is also a glorious ambiguity within it which might, possibly, be why it has maintained a certain interest in some quarters. But I think the book as a whole is overrated. Perhaps if I didn’t have issues with her style I would have enjoyed it more but if you (like me) prefer atmosphere and action over (pah!) emotions and (pah!) romance then maybe look elsewhere for your Satanic kicks.
April 27, 2024
4.5
There's a level to which a modern audience will ascribe a certain reading of sexuality, of gender, of love to older works - a reading more romantic than the author intended. Sam and Frodo are gay as hell, etc. This isn't to say it's bad to think this way, but that we should at least be aware of the context that was relevant at the time, that the author's language may have been changed over the years and turned into something else it was never meant to be.
All this to say that Black Magic by Marjorie Bowen is gay as absolute hell, and about as transgressive as you could imagine a book from 1909 being. This story is less horror than it is arch gothic, a story of genderqueer romance stifled by societal norms, and the horrible lengths someone might go to make their love real. There are some very good reasons why this reading is pretty bad, particularly why one character is likely more problematic than they are trans, but let's just set that aside and revel instead in this emotional turmoil.
Our protagonists are deep in thrall to the powers of Satan, and their dark magics stain the pages. The writing is a little clunky: the language more simple than this story deserves or wants, but also the prose more meandering than ideal. Yet when you set aside the initial discomfort and fall into its meter, the atmosphere and feeling of grand primal darkness of the coming evening... the magic is perfectly realized, just beautiful enough to be attractive, but always clearly evil.
So - atmospheric, emotional, gothic, beautiful.... again, slightly clunky writing, the requisite orientalism of its day, and the will-they-won't-they attitude of the two main characters is formulaic and repetitive (I mean, one of them is specifically angry about it, so it does kinda work.), but these are pretty minor quibbles for a very compelling work. There's a level to which we as modern readers also underestimate the past and like to call things "modern for its time", but this book is precisely that - shockingly modern.
There's a level to which a modern audience will ascribe a certain reading of sexuality, of gender, of love to older works - a reading more romantic than the author intended. Sam and Frodo are gay as hell, etc. This isn't to say it's bad to think this way, but that we should at least be aware of the context that was relevant at the time, that the author's language may have been changed over the years and turned into something else it was never meant to be.
All this to say that Black Magic by Marjorie Bowen is gay as absolute hell, and about as transgressive as you could imagine a book from 1909 being. This story is less horror than it is arch gothic, a story of genderqueer romance stifled by societal norms, and the horrible lengths someone might go to make their love real. There are some very good reasons why this reading is pretty bad, particularly why one character is likely more problematic than they are trans, but let's just set that aside and revel instead in this emotional turmoil.
Our protagonists are deep in thrall to the powers of Satan, and their dark magics stain the pages. The writing is a little clunky: the language more simple than this story deserves or wants, but also the prose more meandering than ideal. Yet when you set aside the initial discomfort and fall into its meter, the atmosphere and feeling of grand primal darkness of the coming evening... the magic is perfectly realized, just beautiful enough to be attractive, but always clearly evil.
So - atmospheric, emotional, gothic, beautiful.... again, slightly clunky writing, the requisite orientalism of its day, and the will-they-won't-they attitude of the two main characters is formulaic and repetitive (I mean, one of them is specifically angry about it, so it does kinda work.), but these are pretty minor quibbles for a very compelling work. There's a level to which we as modern readers also underestimate the past and like to call things "modern for its time", but this book is precisely that - shockingly modern.
April 16, 2022
Tried listening to the audiobook but I was not captivated by the way of writing and the story. I am kind of new to the whole fantasy reading so I am trying to find my way to the sort of fantasy I enjoy. Sadly this was not it.
September 4, 2023
Ngl, after I read this I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. And I still kind of feel the same way but I still liked it. It might be the fact I don't read a lot of fantasy. The language was a little hard but overall, really interesting
May 6, 2020
A little difficult to get into the flow initially but overall a mind blowing story.
October 19, 2020
Surprisingly interesting gothic novel that deserves to be more widely published.
October 24, 2021
Certes, I learned a new interjection!
Darn, that's the end.
Darn, that's the end.
August 14, 2022
The premise sounded so good but I just could not get engaged with with this book.
Sadly, trying to finish the book felt too much like a chore so it was a DNF for me.
Sadly, trying to finish the book felt too much like a chore so it was a DNF for me.
January 18, 2023
It was very gay until it wasn't.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 23, 2023
Niente di che
September 14, 2023
Stan Balthasar x Ysabeau for clear skin (Anyways Dirk deserved better)
September 17, 2023
Beware. This is dark gothic fiction at its best.
November 27, 2023
This was a wild, gothic ride of a novel. Prose was a bit clunky at times, but in some it contributed to its charms.
February 15, 2025
I thought about abandoning it, but after the halfway point it picks up a lot of steam.
I wasn't expecting the turn it took, although it was a pleasant surprise.
I wasn't expecting the turn it took, although it was a pleasant surprise.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews