‘It shall work on the group mind like a ferment’: Dion Fortune’s Legacy
摘要
In the final chapter of this book, I will explore the afterlives of Dion Fortune’s novels and the way her creations and characters continue to influence and initiate readers to this day. The popularity of occultism has expanded hugely within contemporary cultural discourse, and Fortune’s work has not escaped this new revival. Recent adaptations and explorations of Fortune’s work include the play Awake and Asleep, written by Jessica Burgess and performed at Treadwell’s Bookshop in 2016, which was based on Dion Fortune’s novels. A shoot in Sabat Magazine titled ‘The Sea Priestess’ featured headpieces by artists and occultist Charlotte Rogers and was shot at Brean Down (the real-life inspiration for the sea fort in The Sea Priestess). In addition to this, new editions of Fortune’s work continued to be released, with an updated version of The Mystical Qabalah expected in 2022. Fortune’s novels are also particularly popular in Türkiye, where a series of new translations have been published in recent years. Fortune’s work is also beginning to receive more academic attention. The title of the new Palgrave edited collection Essays on Women in Western Esotericism: Beyond Seeresses and Sea Priestesses (2021) borrows from Fortune’s 1938 novel and features two chapters on her work.