ARIES

ARIES  () – www.brill.nl/arie

Essay Review:
Reincarnating Gustav Meyrink:
Three Recent Monographs

Amanda Boyd
University of North Dakota

Mike Mitchell, Vivo: The Life of Gustav Meyrink. Sawtry: Dedalus . 
pp.,  illustrations. ISBN .

Hartmut Binder, Gustav Meyrink. Ein Leben im Bann der Magie. Prague: Vitalis
.  pp.,  illustrations. ISBN .

Theodor Harmsen, Der magische Schriftsteller Gustav Meyrink, seine Freunde

und sein Werk. Amsterdam: In de Pelikaan .  pp., heavily illustrated.
ISBN .

Schwerer ist es, das ewige Lächeln zu erringen, als den Totenschädel in den abertausend
Gräbern der Erde herauszufinden, den man in einem früheren Leben auf den Schultern
getragen; erst muß der Mensch sich die alten Augen aus dem Kopf weinen, bevor er
die Welt mit neuen Augen lächelnd zu betrachten vermag.1

The practicing occultist Gustav Meyrink (–) was not alone among
turn-of-the-twentieth-century German-language authors who incorporated
esoteric themes into their literary works, but his writings have the distinc-
tion of garnering greater recognition in the discipline of Western esotericism.
While the fiction of contemporary writers like Hanns Heinz Ewers, Alfred
Kubin, Karl Hans Strobl, and Franz Spunda also draws upon the increasingly

1)
Meyrink, Gesicht, . ‘It is more difficult to attain the eternal smile than to spot in the
thousands of graves of the earth the skull which was carried on one’s shoulders in an earlier
life. An individual must first cry the old eyes out of his head before he is able, with a smile,
to look upon the world with new eyes.’ All translations from the German are my own.
© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden,  DOI: 10.1163/156798912X645917
 Amanda Boyd / ARIES  () –

popular occult movements of the period, it has not enjoyed the resonance that
Meyrink’s writings have found in the field.2 Perhaps this is because an under-
lying ambition differentiates his works from those of his counterparts, namely
a sincere wish to impart esoteric knowledge to his readers. As Alexander Roda
Roda, Meyrink’s collaborator, explains, ‘Meyrink’s writing has been informed
by occult science, in contrast to so many other authors who have just written
about it. That is, it seems to me, what constitutes Meyrink’s great value.’3 It is
this oracular aspect of Meyrink’s writing that has made his fiction and essays
the subject of such interest. Moreover, the trio of recent publications under
review demonstrates the lasting appeal of his rich and mystery-shrouded life.
Meyrink was perceived by friends and enemies alike to be an eccentric indi-
vidual, one who did not conform to social standards of the day and consistently
challenged their validity. Sometimes he was portrayed as an outsider attempt-
ing to gain social acceptance, and at other times he was cast as a businessman
turned rebel. This sense of dichotomy is a recurring motif in the assessments
of Meyrink’s friends and associates. In this encomium to Meyrink, the author
Karl Wolfskehl recalls that his acquaintance possessed traits that were hard to
reconcile:

He was a completely modern phenomenon, a dapper yogi, a hermit with good man-
ners, a profound connoisseur of lost knowledge without conventional learning, and also
a writer who paints with words. He was a person of taste, politely surprised about the
creations of his own hand. With him it was often impossible to differentiate between
where irony, a joy in hoodwinking, and the amusing impulses of an endearing, or mad-
dening, soul in foment begin and where, on the other side (in every understanding of
the word), he rests, discovers, and gathers. It is nearly indecent to ask rudely of such a
dichotomous individual whether or not he is being serious.4

2)
For instance, Meyrink is the only named author to have an entry in Hanegraaff, Dictio-
nary. See the works of Eduard Frank, Christine Krolick, Florian Marzin, and Frans Smit in
the bibliography.
3)
‘Meyrink [hat] aus geheimer Wissenschaft gedichtet, nicht über sie wie viele andere. Das
macht, scheint mir, Meyrinks hohen Wert aus.’ Roda Roda, ‘Meyrink.’
4)
‘Er war eine völlig neuzeitliche Erscheinung, ein soignierter Yogi, ein Eremit mit guten
Manieren, ein profunder Kenner und Begreifer verschollener Weisheit ohne alle Gelehrsam-
keit im Fachverstand und auch als Schriftsteller, als Bildner im Worte, zunächst Liebhaber,
Person von Geschmack, höflich erstaunt über die eigenen Erlebnisse die er mit seinen Fin-
gerspitzen herausgeleitete. Wo bei ihm Ironie, Freude am Bluff und belustigtes Schlagen
lieblichen oder tollen Seelenschaums beginnt, wo er auf der anderen Seite (in jedem Ver-
stand dieses Wortes) weilt, entdeckt und holt, das läßt sich oft gar nicht auseinanderhal-
ten, und die gemeine Frage, ob er es ernst meine, ist gerade einem solchen Doppelwesen
gegenüber schon zu stellen fast schamlos.’ Wolfskehl, ‘Meyrink.’
 Amanda Boyd / ARIES  () – 

Meyrink acknowledged and embraced his own individuality, calling himself

a “Wüstenhund,” a neologism that literally translates as desert dog.5
Primarily known in wider circles as the author of Der Golem (), Mey-
rink began his writing career in  with the publication of the short story
‘Der heiße Soldat’ (The Ardent Soldier) in the satirical magazine Simplicissimus.
His literary career yielded immensely popular short satirical pieces, five novels,
four plays (co-authored with Roda Roda), and numerous translations and
essays. Much of his writing addresses the European occult movement to some
degree, but it is his novels, four of which incorporate areas of esoteric thought,
that have received the most attention from scholars working in the discipline
of Western esotericism.6
The most difficult task for those investigating how Meyrink’s own experi-
ences, occult and otherwise, influenced his writings has been the act of estab-
lishing biographical facts in the face of misleading anecdotes, the often con-
tradictory statements left behind by the author himself, and a dearth of doc-
umentary evidence. Eduard Frank, who was one of the first scholars to treat
Meyrink and his writings, opens his study thus: ‘Gustav Meyrink is one of
those rare individuals in the realm of intellectual history who cannot be cate-
gorized.’7 And, indeed, Frank is correct in his assessment on two different levels.
First, it has proven difficult for scholars to place Meyrink’s fiction within any
of the numerous turn-of-the-century literary movements (e.g., Expressionism,
Neo-Romanticism, or Décadence). In fact, his fiction was clearly influenced
by and displays the characteristics of various contemporary literary trends. Sec-
ond, Frank’s words, although meant in reference to the literary œuvre, speak to
Meyrink’s complex and occasionally contradictory nature, which has bedeviled
researchers over the years.
The prevalence of incongruent, ambiguous, and illusory biographical infor-
mation in the archival record has resulted in scholarly narratives that exhibit

5)
Smit, Suche, .
6)
These are Der Golem—The Golem (Kabbalah), Das grüne Gesicht—The Green Face (Hasi-
dism), Der weiße Dominikaner—The White Dominican (Taoism), and Der Engel vom west-
lichen Fenster—The Angel of the West Window (alchemy). See Krolick, ‘Esoteric.’
7)
‘Gustav Meyrink gehört zu jenen seltsamen Erscheinungen im Bereich der Geistes-
geschichte, die sich nirgends schematisch einordnen lassen.’ Frank, Meyrink, . It should
be noted that Frank, the most prolific Meyrink scholar, writes from a decidedly occultist
perspective, one which he defines as “visionär.” Despite some inaccuracies Frank’s study
remains an important contribution to Meyrink scholarship.
 Amanda Boyd / ARIES  () –

wide variance in their interpretations of the author.8 As Frank elaborates,

‘In addition to that is the fact that Meyrink’s personal statements must be
carefully examined, because it was characteristic of him to capriciously blend
the real and the fictitious, the true and the invented.’9 Compounding the
uncertainty prompted by extant documents of dubious factuality, much of his
life has remained a mystery to scholars because the author himself destroyed
his correspondence in an ad hoc fashion:10

According to his wife, he considered it unnecessary to save mail. It appears that he

marked each letter, indicating whether or not it was to be saved. Two types of letters
were spared destruction: those concerning normal matters and those which arrived
from all kinds of occult organizations. This led to him always being shrouded in
mysterious darkness.11

As a result of this sorting process, almost all letters not pertaining to the occult
have been lost. One area subject to culling was Meyrink’s private affairs, with
the result that only one letter from his mother, Maria Meyer, survives.12 This

8)
Examples of such disagreements include the confusion surrounding Meyrink’s citizenship
and the details concerning a duel to which he was challenged in Prague.
9)
‘Dazu kommt noch, daß selbst Meyrinks persönliche Aussagen sehr genau zu überprüfen
sind, da es seinem Wesen durchaus entsprach, Reales und Irreales, Wirklichkeit und Erfun-
denes dann und wann bunt durcheinander zu mischen.’ Frank, ‘Meyrinkiana’, . Frank
also goes on to say that the comments of friends and contemporaries are not always trust-
worthy, because their views are biased—an obvious assessment.
10)
Smit points out numerous examples of incongruent biographical data, leaving some
unanswered questions in his account of Meyrink’s life, Suche,  ff.
11)
‘Nach der Äußerung seiner Frau hielt er es für unzulässig, private Post aufzubewahren. Es
scheint so, daß er auf jedem Brief einen Vermerk machte, ob er aufgehoben werden sollte
oder nicht. Zwei Arten von Briefen entgingen der Vernichtung: diejenigen, die sachliche
Angelegenheiten betrafen und diejenigen, die ihn von allen möglichen okkulten Orden
erreichten. Das führte dazu, daß immer ein geheimnisvolles Dunkel seine Gestalt umhüllte.’
Ibid, . The vast majority of these letters can be found in the Meyrinkiana housed in the
Staatsbibliothek München, the largest collection of Meyrink materials. For an overview of
the contents of this and other archives, see Aster, Personalbibliographie. It should be noted,
however, that the value of Aster’s work is hampered by errors and incompleteness. Also, some
of the archival materials have been relocated since she completed this doctoral dissertation
in . For instance, the Karle and Limbert Binder collections are now housed at the
Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica in Amsterdam. The correspondence with Roda Roda,
once located in Vienna, has been reclaimed by Roda Roda’s family and can no longer be
accessed.
12)
Meyrink was born Gustav Meyer and later changed his name.
 Amanda Boyd / ARIES  () – 

has left scholars with many more questions than answers concerning their
relationship.13 Meyrink was clearly intent on consciously shaping his image for
posterity and determining, insofar as possible, how he would be remembered in
literary history: ‘Meyrink seems to have known all too well about the curiosity
readers have for all things bibliographic in nature. He left behind very little
which would satisfy this curiosity or which would allow for the reconstruction
of a biography.’14
As noted by Meyrink researcher and translator Michael Mitchell, the at-
tempts of scholars to reconstruct a biography are further complicated by the
fact that events in his life took on apocryphal form, thus blurring the lines
between fact and fiction. Meyrink himself seemed to enjoy this ambiguity and
even purposefully embellished some stories. One commonly cited instance
concerns the autobiographical account of how he first became interested in
occultism. Meyrink took artistic pleasure in retelling his own personal story, as
the following anecdote shows:

One day my fate lashed me with such great force that I—because of heartbreak and
sentimentality—decided to crown my youthful life (I was  at the time) with the help
of a revolver. A rustling at the door of my bachelor apartment gave me room to pause:
fate, disguised as a bookstore employee, shoved a pamphlet under my door to me. If
there had been a mail box outside, I would probably not be alive today. I picked up
the pamphlet and leafed through it; content: spiritism, ghost stories, witchcraft! This
immediately whetted my interest so profoundly that I placed the revolver in the drawer
for a later and more favorable occasion.15

13)
Michael Mitchell in his volume under review does an excellent job of summarizing
the arguments that have been put forth in this area of Meyrink research, Vivo,  ff.
Because a mother figure plays a significant role in only one of Meyrink’s works, the novella
‘Meister Leonhard’ (), scholars have often projected this tale of a strained mother-son
relationship onto that of Meyrink and his mother.
14)
‘Meyrink scheint allerdings allzugut von diesem Interesse oder vielmehr der Neugier
des Lesers für das Biographische gewußt zu haben. Er hat sehr wenig hinterlassen, was eine
solche Neugier befriedigen kann, oder woraus sich eine Biographie rekonstruieren ließe.’
Qasim, Meyrink, .
15)
‘Da […] versetzte er [mein Schicksalsverhänger] mir eines Tages einen so saftigen
Peitschenhieb, daß ich—aus Liebesgram und anderen Sentimentalitäten—meinem jun-
gen Dasein (ich war damals  Jahre alt) mit Zuhilfenahme eines Bulldogrevolvers die
Krone aufzusetzen beschloß. Ein Rascheln an der Tür meines Junggesellenzimmers ließ
mich innehalten: das Fatum, als Buchhandlungsdiener verkleidet, schob ein Heft unter
der Schwelle der Tür zu mir herein. Hätte damals draußen ein Briefkasten gehangen, wäre
ich heute kaum mehr am Leben. […] Ich hob das Heft auf und blätterte darin; Inhalt:
 Amanda Boyd / ARIES  () –

Mitchell reads this poetic retelling of the author’s attempted suicide and
sudden turn to the occult with ‘a suspicion of self-stylization,’ but at its core
there is some truth to the tale.16
In the face of all of these obstacles, Hartmut Binder has produced a volume
that is a milestone of archival research and a significant contribution to the
contextualization of Meyrink’s life. When researching his subject he identified
two primary shortcomings in previous studies that he wished to rectify. On
the one hand he believes that scholars have been too interested in Meyrink’s
fascination with the occult at the expense of his other experiences. On the other
hand he contends that researchers have been unwilling or unable to take full
advantage of the resources available in archives:

The greatest weakness of Meyrink studies to date is their shortage of documentary

evidence. This shortcoming is, on the one hand, an expression of a particular attitude
wide-spread in secondary literature on Meyrink that above all attaches importance
to esoteric phenomena and, on the other hand, demonstrates little interest in the
mundane aspects of the life that is their object of investigation.17

Indeed, the life of Meyrink and his literary œuvre are profoundly linked to the
European occult movement, and thus it is understandable that the majority
of studies which have emerged since his works were rediscovered by scholars
after  have addressed the occultist elements of his fantastic literature
from various analytical perspectives.18 Indeed, scholars have spread the self-
image Meyrink so painstakingly cultivated during his lifetime and embodied in

Spiritismus, Spukberichte, Hexentum! Dies […] erweckte sofort mein Interesse derart, daß
ich den Revolver für eine spätere günstige Gelegenheit in die Schublade sperrte.’ Meyrink,
‘Luftraum’, .
16)
Mitchell, ‘Meyrink’, . Manfred Lube argues that this and other embellished stories
damaged the author’s credibility and states that, in general, one cannot believe Meyrink’s
autobiographical statements. See Lube, Meyrink, .
17)
‘Die größte Schwäche der bisher zu Meyrink vorliegenden Untersuchungen besteht
freilich in ihrem Mangel an dokumentarischer Unterfütterung. Dieses Manko ist einerseits
Ausdruck einer in der Meyrink-Literatur besonders verbreiteten Geisteshaltung, die vor
allem esoterischen Phänomenen Bedeutung beimißt und sich an den prosaisch verlaufenden
Lebenslinien ihres Untersuchungsgegenstandes nur wenig interessiert zeigt.’ Binder, Leben,
.
18)
Meyrink’s works were confiscated and burned by the Nazis. As a result Meyrink’s family
did not commence their efforts to have his works reissued until after the war. The first post-
war Meyrink study was Cermak, ‘Roman’, published in , which marked the beginning
of modern Meyrink scholarship.
 Amanda Boyd / ARIES  () – 

Alexander Wittek’s portrait from , which depicts him clothed in oriental
robes, a sage occultist confident in his understanding of the unseen powers
at work in this world. However, it is unfair to say that Meyrink researchers
have been completely enthralled by his involvement with the occult.19 Broadly
speaking, Meyrink scholarship has fallen into four categories: the eventful and
controversial life he led, the interpretation of his literary output, his experience
with the occult and its influence on his artistic pursuits, and the contemporary
and posthumous reception of his literature.20
The first extensive biographical study to be published was William van
Buskirk’s dissertation from , ‘The Bases of Satire in Gustav Meyrink’s
Works.’ It is commendable for its willingness to go beyond mere fact collec-
tion and analyze Meyrink’s possible motives for certain actions. For instance,
when discussing the biting criticism of Prague society present in Meyrink’s
early fiction Buskirk states, ‘Perhaps his first stories were accidental in a way,
the accident of a gentleman dilettante letting off a little steam.’21 That year
also saw the publication of Frank’s densely written interpretative monograph,
which discusses Meyrink’s spiritual journey and its manifestation in his œuvre.
In  Manfred Lube produced a dissertation, subsequently published in
, entitled ‘Beiträge zur Biographie Gustav Meyrinks und Studien zu seiner
Kunsttheorien,’ (Contributions to Gustav Meyrink’s Biography and Studies
of his Artist Theories) which continues Buskirk’s biographical work. Lube’s
criticism of previous Meyrink research is justified because he was the first
researcher to extensively plumb the archives and memoirs of Meyrink’s con-
tacts.22 Mohammad Qasim paints a much darker picture of Meyrink’s pri-
vate and business lives, as well as his literary career, than the above studies.
What is curious is that the same primary and secondary sources used by other
researchers form the basis of this book, an example of the fractured image of
Meyrink that has manifested itself in the scholarship. Of particular interest

19)
For instance, my own unpublished dissertation deals with the reception of Meyrink
during WWI, his literary engagement with the history of sideshow freakery, and his place
within the tradition of vampire literature. See Boyd, ‘Demonizing’, as well as Boyd, ‘Hetze.’
20)
See Frank, ‘Rezeption.’
21)
Buskirk, ‘Satire’, .
22)
See Lube, Meyrink. Lube repeatedly criticizes his predecessors for poor research and gives
himself credit for being the first to introduce vital information. The dismissive tone which
dominates this study can be distracting. Furthermore, some of the book’s excessive details,
although interesting, are probably better suited as footnotes. It is clear that he reviewed all
Meyrinkian documentation and tried to put together a puzzle of immense proportions.
 Amanda Boyd / ARIES  () –

in Qasim’s approach is his refusal to portray Meyrink as a victim in the vari-

ous scandals and intrigues he experienced during his life. Instead Qasim por-
trays the author as a strong-willed, determined, and even stubborn man who
took responsibility for his actions and projected a sense of command over his
life.23
The earliest noteworthy study of Meyrink’s literature from the post-war
period, Marga-Evelin Thierfelder’s ‘Das Weltbild in der Dichtung Gustav Mey-
rinks’ (The Worldview in Gustav Meyrink’s Writing), is an attempt to identify
Meyrink as an Expressionist, an association which Meyrink shunned lest he
sacrifice his literary autonomy. Siegfried Schödel, whose ‘Studien zu den phan-
tastischen Erzählungen Gustav Meyrinks’ (Studies on the Fantastic Tales of
Gustav Meyrink) is a well-written and thoroughly researched study, discusses
Meyrink’s use of the fantastic in his short fiction. Christine Rosner, author
of ‘Grotesque Elements in Selected Works of Gustav Meyrink,’ devises her
own categorization system to more accurately analyze the exact function of
the grotesque in Meyrink’s short fiction, but her interpretations often amount
to no more than plot summaries. Helga Abret’s French dissertation, ‘Gustav
Meyrink conteur’ (Gustav Meyrink author) does little to go beyond what had
already been accomplished in other studies, but it does offer readers a basic
introduction to Meyrink organized by themes and cursory discussions of his
short stories.
An analysis of Meyrink’s novels and their depictions of magic, spiritualism,
alchemy, Kabbalah, Taoism, and Buddhism, among other esoteric currents,
is presented in Christine Krolick’s dissertation from , entitled ‘Esoteric
Traditions in the Novels of Gustav Meyrink.’ This is a fascinating project, but,
unfortunately, her very scientific approach eschews interpretive analysis and
makes for tedious reading. Florian Marzin’s book from , Okkultismus und
Phantastik in den Romanen Gustav Meyrinks (Occultism and the Fantastic in
the novels of Gustav Meyrink), explains the interaction between occultism
and the fantastic in Meyrink’s fiction. This detailed discussion traces how
personal events, literary influences, and occult investigations all melded in his
fiction, resulting in what Marzin deems a wonderful literary legacy, even if an
underappreciated one.

23)
Qasim, for example, emphasizes Meyrink’s role in embellishing a duel scandal in Prague
by insisting upon an apology from the challenger. His overall analysis depicts Meyrink as
rather argumentative and implies that this aspect of his character fanned the flames during
quarrels.
 Amanda Boyd / ARIES  () – 

Thomas Wörtche contends that Meyrink’s publication of numerous occult-

ist essays in the mid- to late-s was due solely to his financial straits, but
at best it is a weak argument, if not one that is entirely untenable. According
to Wörtche’s study from , the content of the essays is contradictory. He
contends that Meyrink’s positive descriptions of his own occult experiences
in ‘Magie im Tiefschlaf ’ (Magic in Deep Sleep), ‘Haschisch und Hellsehen’
(Cannabis and Clairvoyance), and ‘Tantrik-Yoga’ stand in stark opposition
to ‘Hochstapler der Mystik’ (Conmen of Mysticism) which assumes a more
cynical tone and pokes fun at frauds who tried to swindle the author over
the years. Wörtche writes, ‘The essays are characterized by the previously
mentioned alternation between serious realism and unrestrained ridicule.’24 As
my own research has revealed, Meyrink used his fiction and non-fiction to share
his esoteric knowledge and simultaneously criticize the popularized forms of
occultism omnipresent in turn-of-the-century European society.25 The two are
by no means mutually exclusive, so what Wörtche describes as a ‘back and forth
between affirmation and criticism’ only serves to accent his underestimation or
misconception of Meyrink’s critical undertaking.26
Finally, Frans Smit offers another excellent argument for a joint examination
of Meyrink’s esoteric studies and literary endeavors. Rich in quotes and written
in a beautiful prose (translated into German from the Dutch by Konrad
Dietzfelbinger), Smit’s book offers a compact yet comprehensive overview of
Meyrink’s life. This study of the significance occultism and writing had for his
life is a good introductory work for readers of German or Dutch.
In his essay for Major Figures of Austrian Literature: The Interwar Years –
, Mitchell shows that Meyrink and his works have been critically received
in two different manners since : he has been seen either as a writer of
sensational horror novels laced with esoteric elements who prepared the foun-
dation for Kafka, or as an occult prophet whose esoteric works uncover the path
to spiritual enlightenment.27 In his own estimation Mitchell deems Meyrink
an important contributor to early twentieth-century fantastic literature. At the
same time he emphasizes the intimate relationship between Meyrink’s occultist
philosophies and his fiction, but he too often discounts the great influence life
experiences had on his work.

24)
‘Die Essays sind gekennzeichnet durch die schon aufgezeigte Wechselstruktur von ern-
ster Eigentlichkeit und hemmungslosem Spott.’ Wörtche, Phantastik, .
25)
See Boyd, ‘Demonizing.’
26)
‘Hin und Her von Affirmation und Kritik,’ Wörtche, Phantastik, .
27)
Mitchell, ‘Meyrink’, .
 Amanda Boyd / ARIES  () –

A further example of the wide variance in Meyrink reception is found in dis-

cussions about the author’s reputation while alive. Qasim claims that his fame
was short-lived, calling him a ‘Randfigur’ (marginal figure);28 yet the opinions
of some contemporaries do not support that assertion. According to Wolfskehl,
‘For years words, expressions, and similes from Meyrink’s Simplicissimus con-
tributions were on every tongue.’29 Here it must be made clear that Meyrink
was read and discussed by two audiences: those in intellectual circles and the
wider public. In Wolfskehl’s literary circles the writings were not only appreci-
ated, but Meyrink himself was admired for his literary talent. As for his recep-
tion by the non-literary world, one can measure his popularity with the high
sales numbers enjoyed by Der Golem and, to a lesser extent, Das grüne Gesicht
(The Green Face). Prior to  the German-speaking public was reading, or
at least aware of, Meyrink’s fiction, and part of the reason was its entertainment
value.
The fact that Meyrink’s literature served an entertainment function and lib-
erally borrowed from the popular culture of his day has led to a mixed reception
of his works, both during his lifetime and following his post-war revival.30 In
 the writer and critic Hermann Sinsheimer made the accurate prediction
that ‘the verdict on this artist fluctuates and will continue to fluctuate for a
long time to come.’31 For example, Marzin and Schödel would have us believe
that the fiction belongs to the category of Trivialliteratur, or pulp fiction.32
In the words of at least one contemporary critic, however, Meyrink’s fiction
evinced high literary quality: ‘One could call these works half crazy, but one
must admit that they are in their own way ingeniously fashioned and spectac-
ularly told.’33

28)
Qasim, Meyrink, Einleitung, n. pag.
29)
‘Jahre durch waren Worte, Wendungen, Vergleiche aus Meyrinks Simplicissimus-Beiträ-
gen geradezu in aller Mund und Gedächtnis.’ Wolfskehl, ‘Meyrink’.
30)
In his short fiction, for instance, Meyrink alludes to skeptical attitudes toward new
technology, mesmerism and séances as party entertainment, the use of hallucinogenic drugs,
and the popularity of traveling waxwork demonstrations and panopticon shows, just to
name a few.
31)
‘das Urteil über den Künstler muß heute und wird lange schwanken.’ Sinsheimer,
‘Weltanschauung’, .
32)
Marzin, Okkultismus, .
33)
‘Man kann diese Stücke halbverrückt finden, jedenfalls wird man zugeben müssen, daß
sie in ihrer Weise genial erfunden und glänzend erzählt sind.’ Hofmiller, ‘Österreicher’,
.
 Amanda Boyd / ARIES  () – 

These days words written by and about Meyrink seem to be ‘on every
tongue’. Recent years have seen a strong interest in Meyrink’s literature in Ger-
many as well as a growing awareness of him in the English-speaking world
thanks to the translation efforts of Mitchell.34 At the same time there has been
a revitalization of Meyrink research. A highlight of this renewed activity was the
Meyrink symposium and exhibition organized and hosted by the Bibliotheca
Philosophica Hermetica in Amsterdam during –. Finally, the publi-
cation of Mitchell’s Vivo: The Life of Gustav Meyrink, Theodor Harmsen’s Der
magische Schriftsteller Gustav Meyrink, seine Freunde und sein Werk (The mag-
ical Writer Gustav Meyrink, his Friends and his Œuvre), and Binder’s Gustav
Meyrink: Ein Leben im Bann der Magie (Gustav Meyrink: A Life under the Spell
of Magic) in such a short span of time has heralded an age of riches for those
who read and study Meyrink. Each of these books serves a unique purpose and
fulfills needs that previously went unmet.
Binder has been able to solve numerous mysteries by accessing archives
which either have been overlooked or were inaccessible to previous genera-
tions of Meyrink researchers, be it due to linguistic limitations or their pri-
vate ownership. Thanks to his knowledge of Czech, Binder has expanded our
understanding of Meyrink and his life by accessing vital documents housed in
Prague. Binder’s dismay at the neglect of these archival documents is evident
in the critical tone he takes in the preface:

Apparently many authors are not able to carry out archival work that goes beyond the
commonly accessed archival materials, but rather engage in incessant speculation about
what it might have been like for Meyrink in this or that situation but about which the
available documents provide no information.35

34)
Since  the German publisher dtv has issued new editions of Meyrink’s four main
novels, each replete with an afterword. On July ,  the elementary school in Söcking,
a district of Starnberg, Germany, celebrated a Gustav-Meyrink Festival. The one-day event
included theatrical adaptations of some of Meyrink’s more obscure short stories as well as
scenes from his novels and musical compositions inspired by Meyrink’s works. Theodor
Harmsen also informed me that he was contacted by a German television producer in
 concerning a Meyrink film being planned for German television, but I have found
no evidence that this project was ever completed.
35)
‘Offensichtlich sind viele Autoren nicht in der Lage, Archivarbeit zu leisten, die über
die Lektüre zugänglicher Nachlaßmaterialien hinausgeht, sondern ergehen sich statt dessen
unablässig in Vermutungen darüber, wie es Meryink in dieser oder jener Situation mög-
licherweise ergangen sein könnte, über die seine Hinterlassenschaft keine Auskunft erteilt.’
Binder, Leben, .
 Amanda Boyd / ARIES  () –

Binder’s objective is to correct misinformation which has been perpetuated

in previous studies, and his work in this area deserves considerable praise. It is
likely that Binder’s volume will be the primary biographical reference work for
the foreseeable future.
Mitchell is a translator and researcher who has helped acquaint the English-
speaking world with Meyrink. The extensive list of his Meyrink-related accom-
plishments includes the translation of all five novels, the publication of anthol-
ogies of short stories in translation, and the composition of critical introduc-
tions to the author. With the publication of his latest work, Vivo, Mitchell has
given us the first English-language biography of Meyrink. And while academics
will surely appreciate its lucid narrative, it is clear that the purpose of the book
is to introduce Meyrink to those unfamiliar with him or unable to read Ger-
man. Scholars seeking more in-depth information and extensively cited source
material may need to turn to the Harmsen and Binder to have their questions
answered.
When reading Mitchell’s biography in conjunction with the Binder volume,
it becomes clear that Binder accomplishes a break from the self-imposed con-
straints of traditional Meyrink scholarship. Whereas both books occasionally
trade in the vague and speculative statements reminiscent of older secondary
literature,36 Binder turns a corner by amassing an impressive amount of sources
to bring sharpness to our view of Meyrink. It must be stated that Mitchell’s nar-
rative is governed by a very different premise and manner of articulation. He
is far less concerned with minute details than with presenting a life of Meyrink
based largely upon evidence found in the autobiographical texts and memoirs
of his peers. With that being the case, Mitchell’s account often relies on anecdo-
tal evidence which, where possible, is corroborated and underpinned through
contextualization and supporting or contradictory evidence.37
Harmsen’s monograph serves quite a different purpose. As a former librar-
ian and bibliographer at the J.R. Ritman Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica
(BPH) in Amsterdam, Harmsen was charged with writing a book that cat-
alogues the library’s newly acquired Meyrinkiana and locates the place and
significance of these materials within Meyrink studies. In  the Dutch

36)
For example, Binder conjectures that Meyrink’s love for the water (he was an avid rower)
may have grown out of the enjoyable walks he took with his grandmother along the River
Isar as a child. Not only does Binder not offer any evidence for this, it seems a rather trivial
point about which to speculate, ibid., .
37)
See Mitchell, Vivo, .
 Amanda Boyd / ARIES  () – 

entrepreneuer J.R. Ritman purchased Robert Karle’s private collection, which

had grown to include the collections of first-generation Meyrink researcher
Eduard Frank, the mystic Lambert Binder, and the alchemist Alfred Müller-
Edler.38 When combined with the already substantial Ritman collection, a sig-
nificant Meyrink archive was born.39 Harmsen’s book is written for a knowl-
edgeable audience seeking to gain access to materials long thought to be lost.
Theodor Harmsen states that the purpose of his monograph is to catalog
the Meyrink collection housed in the BPH using a two-part approach. The
first section of the book presents a bio-bibliographical and thematic overview
of the collection. The second section highlights ‘particular items such as hand-
written manuscripts, letters, books, photographic material, lithographs, and
drawings, all contextually presented.’40 The book is invaluable for its wealth
of images from the holdings of the BPH that have never been published,
as well as helpful descriptions of the library’s Meyrinkiana. The innovative
organization of Harmsen’s volume requires some familiarization. Both sections
of the study are presented in a parallel structure, thereby allowing the reader
to access corresponding information in either section. Also noteworthy is the
poetic manner in which Harmsen interweaves his documentation of Meyrink’s
life and circle of associates with extensive quotes taken from the collection’s
materials. Harmsen eloquently, yet with economy, paints a picture of Meyrink’s
pursuits, his literature, and his personal relationships, including those with the
German mystic Alois Mailänder and the Swiss painter and esoteric author Bô
Yin Râ.
At times the volume resembles a novel more than it does an academic study,
and the thematic approach chosen by the author is non-linear and far from
comprehensive. As Harmsen makes clear, he did not set out to write a rig-
orous study, but rather demonstrate how the materials in the BPH enhance
our understanding of Meyrink and his works, which he does with finesse. The
reader can refer to the extensive bibliography provided for each thematic sec-
tion to conduct follow-up research on any areas of specific interest. Ideally one

38)
Lambert Binder’s collection also contained those few remnants of the Alfred Müller-
Edler collection not lost during the war.
39)
Following a brief closure in / during a funding dispute with the Dutch
government, the BPH is now once again open to the public. Their catalogue can be accessed
online at http://www.ritmanlibrary.com/.
40)
‘besondere Sammlungsstücke wie Autographen, Briefe und Handschriften, Bücher,
fotographisches Material, Lithographien und Zeichnungen in ihrem Kontext.’ Harmsen,
Schriftsteller, .
 Amanda Boyd / ARIES  () –

will carry out such investigations at the BPH itself, which houses all of the
manuscripts, first-editions, and primary and secondary literature mentioned
in Harmsen’s text. Most importantly, the bibliographical material presented
in Harmsen’s volume comprises the most complete listing of secondary liter-
ature available to us. Furthermore, scholars will find their efforts facilitated
by an appendix in which Harmsen cross-references the sections of his work
with the catalogue numbers in the Evelin Aster bibliography, an indispensi-
ble resource for Meyrink researchers which will now stand with Der magische
Schriftsteller as the standard bibliographical works for those wishing to inves-
tigate Meyrink.41
The BPH collection, as outlined by Harmsen, contains a tremendous
amount of information pertaining to Meyrink, his friends, his family, and the
scholars who have conducted research about him. Two areas of the collection
discussed in Harmsen’s monograph are of particular interest to the continuing
reception of Meyrink: the genesis of post-World War II scholarship and the
connections among those who knew and studied Meyrink.
Precisely what happened with regard to Meyrink’s literary legacy in the years
after his death in , and especially following World War II, is revealed
in the Mena Meyrink and first-generation scholar correspondence held at the
BPH. After the passing of her husband, Mena found herself without financial
support since the publication of Meyrink’s works ended under Nazi rule. A
legal document from  explains Mena’s precarious situation during that
period:

The works of Gustav Meyrink were on the list of unfavored writings issued by the
Reichsschriftumskammer [Ministry of Literature]. Their content and leanings were con-
sidered to be anti-nationalist and anti-military. Because these works could no longer
be published after , the plaintiff, Mrs. Meyrink, is entitled to an incredibly large
compensation.42

41)
See Aster, Personalbibliographie.
42)
‘Die Werke von Gustav Meyrink standen auf der Liste der Reichsschrifttumskammer
über mißliebige Schriften. Sie waren ihrem Inhalt und ihrer Tendenz nach antinationalis-
tisch und antimilitaristisch. […] Dadurch, daß diese Werke nach  nicht mehr veröf-
fentlicht werden konnten, ist der Antragstellerin [sic], Frau Meyrink, ein außerordentlich
hoher Schaden entstanden.’ ‘Mena Meyrink’, –. Mena’s financial difficulties were com-
pounded by a dispute regarding her inheritance rights to Meyrink’s works. According to Ger-
man law at the time, these rights went to Meyrink’s children. However, while alive Meyrink
had filed documents with his publishers establishing Mena as the beneficiary. See ‘Gustav
Meyrink v. Bayerische Landesentschädigungsamt.’
 Amanda Boyd / ARIES  () – 

After the war it took many years to find a publisher for Meyrink’s works,
a matter which Harmsen attributes to a post-war focus on exile literature and
diminished interest in the fantastic.43 This certainly did not help Mena and
her grandson Julius Gustav Böhler, the son of their daughter Sibylle from her
first marriage, who had been trying to reignite interest in Meyrink’s works
as a means to provide Mena with some income.44 Their extensive efforts are
documented in the correspondence housed in the BPH archive.
As previously mentioned, the BPH recently acquired the large private col-
lection of Robert Karle, which heretofore had been inaccessible to the pub-
lic. This collection contains thousands of letters from family, friends, and stu-
dents who had direct contact with Meyrink and, therefore, were communi-
cating first-hand information about the author and his life. Not only do the
materials include discussions these Meyrink admirers conducted directly with
Mena Meyrink and Julius Gustav Böhler, but also the letters which passed
among the scholars themselves. Furthermore, the documents show how emerg-
ing researchers like Abret and Aster also requested information from those who
had known Meyrink. This collection of letters traces the first steps in the estab-
lishment of a Meyrink discipline. Much more than a mere chronicle of materi-
als or names, Harmsen’s study demonstrates how those interested in Meyrink
and his writings built a community by way of their direct interactions with the
author and their discussions about him, helping maintain his life after death.
Binder, known for his work on Franz Kafka and other German-speaking
authors who resided in Prague, presents us with the most extensive and exhaus-
tive Meyrink biography to date. Coupling information gleaned from period
documents such as newspapers, church registries, and court protocols with his
expertly conducted archival research, Binder painstakingly chronicles virtually
every event in Meyrink’s life. Divided into two sections, one on Meyrink the
businessman and the second on his life as a writer, Binder’s sumptuously illus-
trated book contains elaborately detailed snapshots of Meyrink’s life. These he
assembled by scouring archival collections, including those only infrequently
utilized by scholars, such as the holdings in Vienna, Montreux, and Hamburg,
as well as archives pertaining to individuals who had some connection with
Meyrink.45

43)
Harmsen, Schriftsteller, .
44)
Mena was considerably younger than Meyrink and survived him by thirty-four years.
45)
The abbreviation key on page  includes the archives Binder accessed to conduct his
research.
 Amanda Boyd / ARIES  () –

Binder does not take pains to engage with past Meyrink scholarship or
to place his assertions within the larger context of that body of research.
Furthermore, he limits his use of secondary literature to those works which
focus heavily on biographical accounts, such as the studies of Buskirk, Lube,
and Qasim, ignoring almost all research with an interpretive or literary focus.46
His is a fact-finding mission, the primary goal of which is to erase inaccuracies
that have plagued Meyrink research for decades. The result of his efforts is
a nearly -page study boasting over  endnotes. Given the magnitude
of Binder’s monograph, I will focus on some of those areas where Binder has
added to our picture of his subject. One such area is Meyrink’s family history,
the circumstances of his birth, and his childhood years.
Binder’s extensive work with period documents uncovered previously un-
known details of Meyrink’s birth and youth. Binder offers the most thorough
genealogical examination to date and was able to obtain Meyrink’s birth reg-
istry from the Evangelical Church in Vienna. It is a well-known fact that
Meyrink, born Meyer, was an illegitimate child whose birth took place in a
Viennese hotel. In his research Binder uncovered an elaborate scheme con-
cocted by Maria Meyer, an actress, in order to protect her noble lover Friedrich
Karl Gottlob Freiherr von Varnbüler and her own family from the shame of
the illegitimate birth. In response to his findings that Maria was not officially
registered in the city of Vienna, Binder writes:

It was intended to appear that the pregnant woman was on a journey and unexpectedly
took a room in a hotel. This was the only way that she could carry out the deception,
which she likely planned with her lover and was intended to conceal the identity of the
child’s father in a dependable manner.47

But that was not the end of the deception. Thanks to paperwork she had
prepared in Stuttgart prior to embarking on her journey, Maria was able to give
the impression that she was married to a man named Karl Berg while keeping

46)
Because Binder’s volume does not contain a bibliography, it is difficult to ascertain
precisely which works he consulted. However, he does provide a key for the abbreviations
of works he references in the endnotes, in which only the interpretive work of Smit and the
MA thesis of Jan Christoph Meister are listed.
47)
‘Es sollte also so aussehen, als sei die Schwangere auf der Durchreise gewesen und dabei
überraschend in einem Hotel niedergekommen, denn nur auf diese Weise konnte sie den
Betrug durchführen, den sie, möglicherweise zusammen mit ihrem Liebhaber, ersonnen
hatte, um die Vaterschaft ihres Kindes besonders zuverlässig verschleiern zu können.’ Binder,
Leben, .
 Amanda Boyd / ARIES  () – 

her own stage name. Thus, Meyrink’s entry in the church’s birth registry
lists him as the son of Maria Meyer and Karl Berg. Binder contextualizes
this situation by providing the reader with supporting information about the
laws pertaining to illegitimate children at the time, thus offering substantial
explanation for Maria’s actions. When young Gustav entered school at the
age of six, Maria was required to present copies of his birth and baptismal
certificates, both of which carried the surname Meyer (not Berg). This led to the
discovery of the deception, the assignment of a legal guardian, and an official
child support agreement with Varnbüler.48
Binder shows that, contrary to popular belief, Gustav Meyer was not bap-
tized in the Mariahilfer Church, but rather at a private ceremony in the hotel
‘Zum blauen Bock’ in order to avoid public scorn. This makes much more sense
when one considers that Maria was evangelical and that the Mariahilfer was a
Catholic church. Binder’s account also clears up confusion about Meyrink’s
citizenship. In accordance with German law, Meyrink, as an illegitimate child,
would have been a citizen of Hamburg, the home of Maria’s father. However,
Maria and Gustav were residents of Munich when the phony marriage was
uncovered and a legal guardian was assigned. As a result, Maria and Gustav
were both declared citizens of Bavaria on February , .49
At this point one would expect Binder to address the discrepancies in the
spelling of Maria’s name, but, unfortunately, no explanation for the obvious
confusion is ever offered. Maria Wilhelmine Adelheid Meyer was, according
to her baptismal certificate located in the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, born to
Friedrich August Meyer and Maria Meyer (née Absenger) on August , 
in Breslau and baptized in the Evangelical Church on September , .50
The above-mentioned birth registry, which is reproduced in Binder’s book, also
clearly spells her name as Maria. Yet various other documents, including her
last will and testament and death certificate, list her name as Marie Meyer.51
While both Mitchell and Binder use the spelling Marie, I have concluded that
Maria is the correct spelling, as based on her baptismal records and the fact
that Maria was a family name used by her relatives.52

48)
Binder reproduces the specific terms of the agreement on page .
49)
Ibid, . According to Binder’s endnote, he acquired this information from Meyrink’s
citizenship certificate filed in .
50)
See ‘Taufschein.’
51)
See ‘Letzter Wille’, and ‘Sterbekunde.’
52)
See genealogical information in Binder, Leben, –.
 Amanda Boyd / ARIES  () –

Meyrink’s relationship with his mother has been a long-debated topic

among researchers and is dealt with problematically in Binder’s volume. Mey-
rink appears to have confided most about the relationship to his friend and
fellow author, Friedrich Alfred Schmid Noerr. Binder writes, ‘He confided to
Schmid Noerr that he was a shy, quiet, joyless, bitter, and very unhappy child,
and had experienced a “very gray youth.” ’53 Meyrink apparently blamed his
unhappy childhood on his mother’s profession, which precipitated their fre-
quent moves and also often kept her away from home. Binder continues, ‘In
addition to this, social norms caused Marie Meyer to hide the existence of her
son and required that he address her as “aunt” in the presence of others.’54 This
points to a very traumatic childhood, one which Binder claims differs from
the happy one Meyrink portrayed in an essay, ‘Die Stadt mit dem heimlichen
Herzschlag’ (The City with the Secret Heartbeat).55 Based on Binder’s presen-
tation of the material, one might think that the reader is being confronted
with another instance of Meyrink’s confabulation. But, in truth, the essay to
which Binder refers presents no information to support the assumption that
Meyrink had a happy childhood. The words which Binder quotes pertain to
the disposition of Bavarians in general and fail to reveal Meyrink’s own frame
of mind.56 Furthermore, while the Schmid Noerr recollections are revealing,
Binder neglects to provide a source for the information. It seems odd that
Binder cites the genealogical records of Maria’s male companion in Munich in
order to prove his aristocratic heritage, but does not supply the reader with the
necessary bibliographical information needed to locate Schmid Noerr’s claims.
Unfortunately, such examples of incomplete source citation occur elsewhere
in the study. For instance, when discussing the – Hetze, or series of
denunciations against Meyrink, due to his opposition to the First World War,
Binder provides previously unknown information about Albert Zimmermann,
one of the loudest nationalist voices in this debate about Meyrink’s patriotism,
but does not cite his source.57 In this same chapter Binder quotes Zimmerman

53)
‘Schmid Noerr gegenüber gab er später zu Protokoll, er sei ein scheues, stilles, freudloses,
verbittertes, sehr unglückliches Kind gewesen, das eine “ganz graue Jugend” durchlebt habe.’
Ibid, .
54)
‘Dazu kamen die gesellschaftlichen Verhältnisse, die Marie Meyer veranlaßten, ihren
Sohn vor andern zu verleugnen, verlangte sie doch, daß er sie Tante nannte, wenn andere
zugegen waren.’ Idem.
55)
The essay can be found in Frank, Latern.
56)
Binder, .
57)
Binder, Leben, . The attack against Meyrink, which was waged in the pages of public
 Amanda Boyd / ARIES  () – 

indirectly and also neglects to cite the document from which the quotation
came.58 Another drawback is the book’s lack of a bibliography. Readers must
resort to searching through the substantial list of endnotes in order to find first
references. Given the enormity of his contribution and the extensive research
conducted by Binder, it is disappointing that such deficiencies mar his work.
On the other hand, a great strength of this study is its fascinating account
of the entrepreneurial undertakings of Meyrink. For example, Meyrink’s claim
that he owned the first car in Prague is well known, but Binder reveals that
Meyrink had attempted to gain entry into the car dealership business. Nowhere
in Meyrink scholarship have the man’s business endeavors been so meticulously
reported, as in the description of a business venture designing and selling gas
lamps he embarked upon with Mena’s brother, Josef Bernt.59 Binder includes
a detailed account of the business plans and a copy of the light bulb patent the
men filed with the Vienna patent office. In an anecdotal conclusion to the story,
Binder reports how Meyrink, true to his character, embellished upon these
events later in life, claiming to have invented the light source in question.60
Among other aspects of Meyrink’s life outside of occultism that Binder sheds
fresh light on are his residency in Prague, his banking endeavors, and the duel
that led to Meyrink’s arrest.
Chapter Five of the book’s first half is titled ‘Die Welt des Okkulten’ (The
World of the Occult) and devotes one hundred pages, albeit heavily illustrated
and filled with tangential information, to several occult topics. These include
the Lotse, or spiritual guide, in the thought of Meyrink, the Theosophical
Society, the lodge ‘Zum blauen Stern,’ the Sat-Bhai-Order, the Eastern School
of Theosophy, parapsychological experiments, Mailänder, and alchemy. Other
portions of the book describe Meyrink’s experiences with yoga and magic, and
his participation in the mediumistic experiments of the parapsychologist Albert
Freiherr von Schrenk-Notzing.

newspapers for almost two years, was quite complex. One the one side nationalist critics
accused Meyrink of being antinationalist because his writings did not support the war effort
and, on the other side, Meyrink supporters poked holes in the weak arguments put forth
by the right-wing critics. For more information see Boyd, ‘Hetze.’
58)
The passage in question, in which Zimmermann accuses Meyrink of being antinational
and ridiculing the entire empire, is taken almost verbatim from Zimmerman, ‘Meyrink’,
. The use of the subjunctive mood indicates that this is indirect speech quoting printed
material, yet no source is provided.
59)
Binder, Leben, –.
60)
Ibid, .
 Amanda Boyd / ARIES  () –

Reflecting on the misleading account of the gas lamp, Binder reminds his
readers that Meyrink’s words cannot always be taken at face value:

This is an excellent example of why not only the anecdotes and stories about Meyrink
spread by contemporaries are to be critically examined, but also his own statements. In
his fitting obituary Hermann Uhde-Bernays claims that one had to know him in order
to differentiate between reality and fantasy in his stories. This is because he enjoyed
ensorcelling the listener with his statements.61

In Binder’s view, autobiographical details about the author’s occult life require
particular scrutiny. Perhaps the central example of Meyrink’s willingness to
dissemble can be seen in that commonly quoted anecdote wherein a pamphlet
pushed under his door triggers his passion for occultism. This may have been
the first appearance of Meyrink’s renowned Lotse, however, as Binder clearly
demonstrates, Meyrink’s own writings and the reminiscences of the Czech
Theosopher Karel Winfurter prove that his interest in all things occult actually
began two years earlier, in .62 This is a major revision of the facts of the
matter as established by previous Meyrink research.
In comparison, Mitchell interprets this moment as the genesis of Meyrink’s
awakening: ‘Meyrink’s transformation from dandy to serious seeker after eso-
teric truth took place gradually during the s, but the event that initiated
it was dramatic.’63 Mitchell’s understanding of this key point in Meyrink’s life
rests on frequently cited sources, including a quote from the essay ‘Der Lotse’
(The Pilot). Theodor Harmsen’s brief account of Meyrink’s spiritual transfor-
mation mirrors the previously received opinion on this event and is emblematic
of how Meyrink research has relied largely on his own words. Harmsen states,
‘Meyrink himself considered suicide in  as he reveals in ‘The Pilot,’ but in
the last moment he broke off the attempt, as some brochures about occult liter-
ature sparked his interest.’64 Binder, skeptical of Meyrink’s honesty, attempts to

61)
‘Dies ist ein vorzügliches Beispiel dafür, daß nicht nur die von Zeitgenossen verbreit-
eten Anekdoten und Geschichten über Meyrink kritisch zu hinterfragen sind, sondern auch
dessen Sebstaussagen. Man habe ihn gut kennen müssen, um in seinen Erzählungen Wirk-
lichkeit und Phantasie unterscheiden zu können, schrieb Hermann Uhde-Bernays zutre-
ffend in seinem Nachruf, denn er habe sich ein Vergnügen daraus gemacht, durch seine
Äußerungen den Hörer ganz in seinen Bann zu ziehen.’ Ibid, .
62)
Ibid, –.
63)
Mitchell, Vivo, –.
64)
‘Meyrink selbst trug sich  mit Selbstmordgedanken, wie er in “Der Lotse” enthüllt,
sah aber im letzten Moment davon ab, da, wie er sagte, einige Broschüren über okkulte
Literatur seine Neugierde geweckt hatten.’ Harmsen, Schriftsteller, .
 Amanda Boyd / ARIES  () – 

find the truth beneath Meyrink’s words by triangulating as many independent

sources as possible.
As one reads Binder’s comments on Meyrink’s involvement with occult stud-
ies and the occult community it becomes clear that at points in the narrative
he expresses far more interest in telling the stories of the people who filled
Meyrink’s life than focusing on the book’s subject. Binder brings a wide focus
to his investigations of Meyrink’s network of friends and associates and then
expounds on the backgrounds and activities of this diverse cast of characters.
While his efforts to present intricately-drawn social context are commendable,
it requires a significant amount of work on the part of the reader to sift through
details which will strike general readers of the book as minutiae and those
familiar with turn-of-the-century European esoteric currents as unnecessary
background. For example, Binder devotes a considerable amount of space to
Blavatsky’s Theosophical Society, and well he should given that this organiza-
tion was instrumental in Meyrink’s occult education. But rather than focus his
comments on Meyrink’s experiences with the group, Binder discusses at great
length the in-fighting which plagued the Theosophical Society. This occasional
lack of focus in Binder’s narrative suggests that his monograph might have ben-
efited from the guidance of a firmer editorial hand.
One is thankful when Binder returns to Meyrink after such long tangents,
as here when he discusses Meyrink’s judgment of the conflict engulfing the
Theosophical Society and how it led to his decision to abandon the society.
Nevertheless, Binder’s volume does provide some new insights into the Theo-
sophical Society and Meyrink’s relationship to it. He reveals that important
members of the Theosophical Society in Vienna were involved with his lodge
in Prague, ‘Zum blauen Stern,’ which was relegated to a secret society because it
was not sanctioned by the Hapsburg monarchy. Those individuals from Vienna
who were active in the lodge included Baron Adolf Franz Leonhardi, Friedrich
Eckstein, and Count Carl Polycarp. Binder clarifies Meyrink’s role at the lodge:
Meyrink was not, as previously believed, the founder of the lodge. He claims
this was the case in his essay ‘Die Verwandlung des Blutes’ (The Transforma-
tion of the Blood) but instead he was elected chairman of the group and played
a very significant role in the lodge due to his knowledge of English.
As noted above, Binder takes advantage of previously untapped Czech
sources and, as a result, devotes substantial space to information found in the
memoirs of Weinfurter. The Theosopher was a member of Meyrink’s circle of
associates in Prague and played an early role in Meyrink’s occult investigations.
Through his interactions with Weinfurter, Meyrink expanded his list of con-
tacts to include the artist and occult photographer Gustav Miksch, the Prague
 Amanda Boyd / ARIES  () –

spiritist Josef Poš and his relative Leonhardi, and Arthur von Rimay. These
were all members of Na Poříčí, a Prague occult group with which Meyrink
became involved prior to his self-described enlightenment of . The group
met regularly in the center of the city and later in Meyrink’s apartment.
Furthermore, Binder discusses various occult teachers, such as the Theoso-
pher Alfred Percy Sinnett, Johann Baptist Krebs (Kerning), and Jakob Lorber.
In addition, he explores the significance of specific literary works associated
with esotericism, including the Bhagavad Gita and Goethe’s ‘Märchen’ (Fairy
Tale). Meyrink regularly refers to both in his philosophical essays. Also detailed
is Meyrink’s membership in the Eastern School, or Inner Circle of the Theo-
sophical Society. The Eastern School figured prominently in Meyrink’s life-long
study of yoga, but he felt it could not surpass the teachings of the Rosicrucians
under the leadership of Mailänder, also known as Bruder Johannes.
One of the more interesting revelations in Binder’s book concerns Meyrink’s
trip to Levico in . This Italian town is the setting of the short story ‘Der
Untergang’ (The Decline, ) and Meyrink indicates in an essay from 
that his participation in a séance there proved to him that there are phenomena
which turn science on its head. According to Binder, Meyrink revealed much
more to his associates than can be found in his own writings. Weinfurter
apparently recorded what he learned about Meyrink’s excursion. In Binder’s
retelling of Weinfurter’s account, a Count Amonti appeared during the sitting
and stated that he was bound to the house and must kill those present in order
to find peace: ‘After that the table began moving toward the wall and pressed
up against Meyrink with such great force that he thought he would be killed.
Eventually, he was able to extricate himself from the situation.’65
A curious intertwining of Meyrink’s occult interests and the propaganda
machinery of the German government proves to be one of the strangest epi-
sodes of his unusual life, as described in the chapter titled ‘Im Auftrag des
Auswärtigen Amtes’ (Under Contract to the Foreign Office). In  Ursula
von Mangoldt uncovered conversations between the author and this branch of
the government concerning potential employment opportunities that touched
upon Meyrink’s occult interests. Binder’s volume offers more details of this
situation, including a reproduced letter concerning Meyrink’s negotiations
with the German Foreign Office. The government had contacted Meyrink in

65)
‘Daraufhin begann sich der Tisch auf die Wand zuzubewegen und Meyrink mit so großer
Kraft dagegenzudrücken, daß dieser dachte, er werde umgebracht, bis es ihm schließlich
gelang, sich aus dieser Situation zu befreien.’ Binder, Leben, –.
 Amanda Boyd / ARIES  () – 

 with the suggestion that he write a novel that would place the blame
for WWI on French and Italian Freemasons. In response to his queries, the
officials informed Meyrink that he had been chosen for the task based on
the characteristically anti-military stance he depicted in his works. Meyrink
agreed to write the novel and, according to his notebooks, spent the next
few years developing ideas for the project, which never came to fruition.
Even stranger, two years earlier Meyrink had published a tale with a strikingly
similar premise. ‘Das Grillenspiel’ (The Game of the Crickets, ) tells the
story of an ignorant tourist who inadvertently causes the outbreak of WWI
after persuading a black magician to demonstrate his abilities. However, the
information revealed in Binder suggests that this may be just an incredible
coincidence.
In conclusion, these three monographs are a testament to what we can
ascertain about Meyrink in spite of his efforts to throw would-be biographers
off the trail. In particular, Binder’s volume shows that by broadening the range
of documents drawn upon in a study one may to some extent counteract
Meyrink’s inclination to depict himself as a character in the fanciful retelling
of his own life’s story. Nonetheless, it is a sad truth that no Herculean effort of
research will ever paper over the breach caused by the willful destruction of his
papers. As a contemporary enthusiast laments, ‘It is always a pleasure to read
a book by Meyrink, but it involves effort and suffering to even intend to write
seriously about him.’66

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