Well, it's the Daily Mail so you can expect it to focus on the tabloid material, rather than for example her later interest in gardening/ allotments.
Odd, it doesnt mention the title and author of the book (an occasional forum contributor).
Of more concern, is accuracy.
The photo of Anita and Keith in their Chelsea home is dated 6 October 1970. Actually, Keith was in Germany at the time on the 1970 European tour. I would date the photo around a year earlier.
So not a good omen in regards to wether this is going to be a comprehensive and detailed account of her life.

Blah. Nothing new here. Just the Daily Mail's sensationalistic spin on previous pieces from Spanish Tony and David Dalton. Hopefully the book offers something new.

"'I had an interest in witchcraft,' she recalled later, 'in Buddhism, in the black magicians that my friend, Kenneth Anger, introduced me to. The world of the occult fascinated me.'"

Not sure how Buddhism factors into the occult.

You need to remember when Anita was born. The first half of the last century saw Eastern philosophy mixed in with the occult, Gnosticism, and mythology. Kenneth Anger and Manly P. Hall were learning from the works of Crowley and Sir Richard Burton (not Elizabeth Taylor's husband) and anything outside of the norm of Judeo-Christianity was seen as esoteric and by its very nature, exotic and even transgressive. Helena Blavatsky and the whole Theosophical movement were built on tying all these disparate elements together.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-02-24 05:32 by Rocky Dijon.

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Rocky Dijon
You need to remember when Anita was born. The first half of the last century saw Eastern philosophy mixed in with the occult, Gnosticism, and mythology. Kenneth Anger and Manly P. Hall were learning from the works of Crowley and Sir Richard Burton (not Elizabeth Taylor's husband) and anything outside of the norm of Judeo-Christianity was seen as esoteric and by its very nature, exotic and even transgressive. Helena Blavatsky and the whole Theosophical movement were built on tying all these disparate elements together.

I hadn't thought of tying the Theosophists, Yeats, etc., into that--they were mostly late 19th-C, weren't they? Must take another look, but it was just jarring for me to see Buddhism mentioned in the same breath as the occult. They seem to pull in radically different directions.

They were mostly late 19th Century, but that's what informed the esoteric thinking of the first half of the 20th Century. It does seem odd today, but Buddhism and Hinduism were considered part and parcel of the occult just by seeming exotic to the Judeo-Christian West. Seen from that perspective, it's not odd for Kenneth Anger or Anita to have expressed such thoughts.

I'm enjoying the book so far.

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Aquamarine

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Rocky Dijon
You need to remember when Anita was born. The first half of the last century saw Eastern philosophy mixed in with the occult, Gnosticism, and mythology. Kenneth Anger and Manly P. Hall were learning from the works of Crowley and Sir Richard Burton (not Elizabeth Taylor's husband) and anything outside of the norm of Judeo-Christianity was seen as esoteric and by its very nature, exotic and even transgressive. Helena Blavatsky and the whole Theosophical movement were built on tying all these disparate elements together.

I hadn't thought of tying the Theosophists, Yeats, etc., into that--they were mostly late 19th-C, weren't they? Must take another look, but it was just jarring for me to see Buddhism mentioned in the same breath as the occult. They seem to pull in radically different directions.

Yeates was a member of Hermetic order of the golden dawn and I think I read OTO also. He Joined the order after leaving the Theosophical society.

Well that's three of us who enjoy the esoterica of the past...

The book is ok and mostly a kind of compilation of all that's been said about her and by her and her associates etc.

It gets really tedious once it hits 1967 - 1968. The large section about Performance goes on and on.

One chapter for the last 40 years of her life.

Whilst reading you will get sick of seeing the word phlegmatic.

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His Majesty
The book is ok and mostly a kind of compilation of all that's been said about her and by her and her associates etc.

It gets really tedious once it hits 1967 - 1968. The large section about Performance goes on and on.

One chapter for the last 40 years of her life.

Whilst reading you will get sick of seeing the word phlegmatic.

Phlegmatic: meaning 'the most stable of temperament '.
So, not referring to Anira presumably!

Disappointing that the book runs out of steam post 1980. Did her family not cooperate with the book? What about her neighbours in Chelsea or the folks down at the allotment. And the Design College (St Martins) where she gained her degree. All this would offer new insights instead of the same old, same old tales of 1960s excess. Maybe none show biz people prefer not to talk...

It's all quite sparse and fast after she splits from Keith.