The stories of Arthur Machen (1863-1947) teem with sinister ancient pre-Christian horrors – troglodyte races and malevolent fauns – that lurk just beneath the surface of modern life. Yet for Machen, these folklore evils were the flip side of a positive theology that invited the visionary to step through the veil of illusion into another world; a magical world. Sometimes the lifting of the veil occurs on ancient tumuli in the Welsh countryside of his childhood; often it can be found in a back street of London.

 

The Thin Veil of London, a series of literary walks and talks, takes up this theme. It is a journey into the silent corners of Holborn and Bloomsbury, and it is a journey into the worlds of Faery and science, madness and ecstasy, and what Machen called ‘the eternal beauty hidden beneath the crust of common and commonplace things; hidden and yet burning and glowing continually if you care to look with purged eyes’.

 

The walks will begin at an undisclosed pub in Bloomsbury, and ending at a pub that serves food.

 

At this year's Caerleon Festival (5 - 14 July), Arthur Machen's 150th birthday will be celebrated. Talks on The Thin Veil of London will take place at the festival, as well as the launch of a beautiful limited edition of Machen's part-London-based autobiography, Far Off Things, printed by The Three Impostors.