The Great Beast

John Symonds: The Great Beast. Aleister Crowley: The Wickedest Man in the World (1951; repr. London: Panther, 1956).

The Parents: Pious Plymouth Brethren.

The Son: A man who wantonly trod the path of evil, whose life story is one of excesses that filled the headlines of the world in his day.

Ghost Girl, Fengdu, Ghost City, China

Satan's Gal, 1950

When Larke met Hurd Fairlie she was afraid of hi. She knew about his reputation and the numerous women in his life. She also knew that he cast them off like an old coat (only much more frequently) when he tired of them. She knew that Hurd Fairlie was the worst thing in the world for her. And yet it had to happen …
  Larke, as other's before her, finally became installed as Fairlie's mistress. And haven taken the plunge she was deleriously happy, clutching at every moment, hoping against hope that he would not leave, suddenly and without warning—without a word of why or where.
  Larke soon became a girl of Stan—seeing escape in other men, in drinking and in reckless escapades. Nothing could fill the awful void. And when young Vaughan Elliott asked he to marry him, she knew it was her only salvation. But as the time of their marriage grew near, Larke realised it couldn't be—she had to find Hurd Farlie again …

Carolina Lee, Satan's Gal. By the author of Yaller Gal (Kingston, NY: A Handi-Book Romance, 1950).

Jugiong, NSW, Boxing Day 2010