The Secret Glory (1922)

Here’s another novel by Arthur Machen casually hailed here and there as a masterpiece. He spent several years on it at the turn of the 20th century, but it was not published until 1922. In a preface, Machen notes an encounter with an old teacher and mentor. “I am just finishing a book,” Machen says, “a book that everybody will hate.” It’s a fair assessment. I had a good deal of trouble getting through it, though it’s not without its merits. I loved his sardonic take on public school sports and the cruelties of adolescents in bunches. The main character, Ambrose Meyrick, is obviously autobiographical, a dreamer and intellect with no aptitude for physical play. He’s at the school because his uncle is a master, who unfortunately abuses him. An early (and lengthy) caning of Ambrose is notably vivid and sadistic. Ambrose is a reject but he’s on to bigger things in the scheme of life and death, namely, as near as I can tell, the Holy Grail itself. Machen’s speculation on how it got to Wales has something to do with Romans and/or the Roman Catholic Church. As an interesting side note, Protestants are much reviled here. The story makes a kind of sense but only the maddest kind. Ambrose never finishes school and eventually escapes the small Welsh town and his uncle. His father, now dead, was a certified mystic so Ambrose comes by it honestly. His uncle, a cleric as well as instructor, is all materialist with earthly ambitions. Machen is acid on him. Eventually scenes out of Rabelais intrude the narrative. Ambrose is a fan and speaks to his girlfriend about Panurge, Pantagruel, and such. Mostly bewildering for me, but it does make me want to read Rabelais. There is a grail here. It seems likely to be the Holy Grail, from the way it’s described and by its hypnotizing colors. Ambrose is bohemian in lifestyle, traveling to London with his girlfriend and living with her there (and reading Rabelais). I don’t, contra Machen, hate The Secret Glory, but it was a slog for me. It seemed like a lot of work for very little. It also seemed to promise more, perhaps, with a slower, more thoughtful reread, but I’m not sure I will ever get to that.

In case the library is closed due to AI assault, which is not happening.