Perhaps by now you are wondering...

...just who was Arthur Machen?

Very briefly, a writer with an unusual ability to touch the twin sublimes of wonder and terror...

...just another cult writer, then?

The Friends of Arthur Machen say not. We'd like to point out.....

.....that his words echo and return in the mind, in a way more expected of a poet. Try a sample quotation or two

.....that his writing has a kind of landscaping power, to evoke both the wildness of his native Wales, and the phantasmagorical sublimity of late Victorian London

.....that his novel The Hill of Dreams is perhaps the finest exploration ever written of the theme of the accursed artist.

.....that he was a major figure in the decadence of 1890s London.

.....that his 1914 short story "The Bowmen" gave rise to the World War One legend of The Angels of Mons.

.....that his achievement should rank alongside far better known contemporaries, such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson or Oscar Wilde.

 

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The Friends of Arthur Machen (FoAM) is a fellowship which exists to foster interest in Machen and his work, to aid research, and for the pleasure of its members.

This site is maintained by Dr Adrian Eckersley, who is interested in all aspects of Machen's life and work. Your comments, news, suggestions and interactions are welcome. Email address below: but you have to unscramble the spam trap by removing xxx ie. so domain name reads "machensoc"-

" adrian@machenxxxsoc.demon.co.uk"

visits since May 1997

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Arthur Machen in about 1901

 

On this site you will find:-

  • a biographical essay
  • a study of Machen's work
  • picture and quotation gallery
  • a complete online short story
  • info about FoAM
  • info about joining FoAM
  • Machen's work and copyright
  • news
  • links and contacts

     

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