The Devils of Loudun

Rating:
Summary: Historical and spiritual masterpiece
Review: Huxley is best known for his prophetic work, Brave New World. He was a polymath who many contemporaries regarded as a walking encyclopedia. In addition to his intellectual talents and broad interests, he was a profoundly spiritual person interested in all aspects of human transcendence. Some of his most intriguing works, for instance, dealt with the use of psychoactive chemicals and the mystical experience. The present work, though, is far removed from chemicals, science, and reason; it is a profound investigation of religious madness in the early 17th century.

Demonic possession has been a tantalizing topic ever since William Friedkin made his frightening movie, The Exorcist (1973), based on William Peter Blatty's popular novel (1970) of the same name. Blatty had initially received inspiration for the tale during his sophomore year at Georgetown when he read a brief newspaper article about a Washington, D.C. area boy who underwent exorcism at the hands of a group of Catholic priests. He stashed the article away and many years later set to work to create this horror masterpiece. In sculpting The Exorcist Blatty must have read Huxley's The Devils of Loudun (1952) for a number of telltale traits can be found in both accounts.

The Devils of Loudun is the most carefully researched book about the most fully documented case of demonic possession. The first part of the book immerses you in the times and personalities of 17th century France: here is Descartes, here the Sun King, here his eminence, Cardinal Richielieu. In this part, Huxley also presents a nice biography of Urban Grandier, a priest who plays a large role in the rest of the book. While Huxley's writing is at times abstruse he does a fine job of conveying the vast cultural differences between the modern and premodern sensibilities. This alone is worth the read because you come to appreciate a very different view of the world and, in this case, a view that was the ancestor of our own worldview. Of course the more entertaining and gruesome aspects of the book begin after this thorough immersion. It becomes clear, though, that one needed that historical and biographical preface in order to truly grasp the phenomenon at Loudun.

The `phenomenon' of Loudon is that a small convent of Ursuline nuns all became raving demoniacs. Multiple exorcists are called in to rid these demons and the reader gets a good review of the sort of demonic chicanery that any fan of The Exorcist is sure to appreciate. It becomes clear, as one reads the account, that Blatty got a lot of his best material from this book. You have all the blaspheming, lewdness, and sexual proffering that Linda Blair so spooked us with and even a good share of the unnatural acrobatics that causes one's hair to stand on end.

Huxley does a superb job of entertaining us with this account and we shouldn't feel particularly guilty for so being entertained since all involved in the original case milked the possession for its sensational content. But, more importantly, Huxley grounds the case in the historical realities and juxtaposes these realities to our own. This makes for a fascinating analysis of madness and belief. Huxley's insights are worth careful consideration as he explains the nature of the possession in both spiritual and psychological terms.


Rating:
Summary: Hard to find book, but well worth the wait.
Review: My first experience w/this story was the movie, The Devils, w/Vanessa Redgrave and Olvier Reed (directed by Ken Russell, need I say more?) which is a bit of a warped account of the book which is vastly superior. I also found a play by Whiting based on the book and an opera by Penderecki! What prompted so much interest and imitation? An outstand and very spiritual book. I actually enjoyed the narration and the way it would "interrupt" the voice of the book. It was somewhat similar to Camus' The Plague. It was in these passages of narration that Huxley really shows the profound message this book has to offer. To find that message, you must find a copy, it's worth it!

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Summary: State, society, and spirituality in 17th century France
Review: The Devils of Loudun is a wonderful study of state, society, and spirituality in 17th century France. By closely examining the events surrounding a case of satanic possession of a cloister of nuns in the village of Loudun, Aldous Huxley writes knowledgably and entertainingly about French history and Roman Catholicism of this period.

The book begins with the coming of a new priest, Urbain Grandier, to the village church. He is young, handsome, intelligent, and sophisticated. Grandier is a worldly priest who has the village women enthralled, and he is not committed to a life of celibacy. After a series of affairs, he falls in love with and "marries" in a secret ceremony Madeleine de Brou.

One of the women who has become infatuated by Grandier is the Mother Superior of the Ursuline convent, Sister Jeanne des Anges, an ambitious young woman who is unstable emotionally. She starts talking of her dreams and obsessive thoughts about Grandier to the other nuns and to her confessor. He sees the influence of the devil in these compulsive thoughts and begins an exorcism that lasts for six years.

Fantasies about the local priest turn into accusations that he is in league with the devil. Huxley describes Grandier' powerful enemies and their motives for wanting him punished. Grandier is accused of witchcraft, found guilty, and burned at the stake.

The close relationship between Sister Jeanne and her exorcist, the Jesuit mystic Joseph Surin, rounds out the book. Huxley presents a learned and intriguing discussion of christian mysticism and its relationship with the concept of satanic possession as it was understood at the time.

Although it is the basis for the Ken Russell movie The Devils, the book provides a much more detailed and less sensationalistic approach to the material than the movie. An excellent study that continually compares the 20th century with the topics under discussion, this book is a wonderful view into this period. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in the history of France, witchcraft, mysticism, or the Catholic Church. Huxley doesn't believe in the nuns' possession, but provides a well-reasoned explanation of his own interpretation of events.

Rating:
Summary: Shocking yet instructive
Review: This book in an account of the strange events in the French town of Loudun in the early seventeenth century. It's a tale of religious hysteria, sexually frustrated nuns, scheming in-fighting clerics and ambitious politicians. Huxley describes the hyprocisy of the time, and the uses to which apparent devil-possession and witchcraft were put, not only by the exorcists, but by the "possessed" themselves.

The first 100 pages are interesting, yet merely set the scene for the rest of the book, and as such the reader has to be prepared to read in anticipation of a quicker pace and more gripping account later on.

But this is not a tale along the lines of "The Exorcist" (though Huxley does not spare the reader the grisly details) - it's a more reflective and scholarly work than a mere sensationalist entertainment. Huxley relates the history of the events in Loudun, but tries to place those events in a wider historical context, examining what they meant to contemporaries, and contrasting them with later attitudes, and the common beliefs of his own era. Huxley's standpoint is that although the events in Loudun appear gruesome and unacceptable now, beneath what we consider our own "culture" and humanity lurk more sinister latent tendencies:

"Few people now believe in the devil; but very many enjoy behaving as their ancestors behaved when the Fiend was a reality as unquestionable as his "Opposite Number"."

No doubt Huxley's psychological and historical analyses will appear out-of-date to modern experts, but his approach is nontheless a deeply humane one - seeking to understand some of the most base and basic features of the dark side of our behaviour. Given the present state of the world, who would disagree with:

"Montaigne concludes with one of those golden sentences which deserve to be inscribed over the altar of every church, above the bench of every magistrate, on the walls of every lecture hall, every senate and parliament, every government office and council chamber. "After all" (write the words in neon, write in letters as tall as a man!) "after all it is rating one's conjectures as a very high price to roast a man alive on the strength of them"."

Write them in the East and in the West too.

Rating:
Summary: A Lesser-Known, but Important Addition to the Huxley Cannon
Review: This book received some attention when Ken Russel's movie came out in the early 70's. Before and since it's been pretty much neglected, which is a shame. In my estimation, Huxley is one of the foremost masters of prose writing in the English language. Those who are unfamiliar with his essays should seek them out. His was a mind that ranged far and probed deeply. The incidents portrayed in this book are indeed bizarre. It will remind some of Arthur Miller's The Crucible, in that a group of young women, in this case nuns, fall victim to mass hysteria. A local priest, Father Grandet, becomes the fall-guy and the true victim of a superstition-riddled Inquisition.

I'm sorry to see that this book is currently unavailable. It's really one of the most interesting historical accounts that I've ever read. Actually, Whiting's play, based on the same incident, is also excellent. I have mixed feelings about Russell's film. I thought Vanessa Redgrave was remarkable and Oliver Reed was very good, but Russell went too often over the top as is his wont.

If you can't find this book online, perhaps you will come across it in a used-bookstore or, if you are luckier than I am and have a well-stocked library, you can find it there. You shouldn't pass up the opportunity if you want to have a satisfying and unusual reading experience.

Rating:
Summary: A must for you!
Review: This is a compelling and detailed essay about the facts happened in Loudun in the century XV .
Urbain Grandier a priest not necesarily viruosi visits Loudun and since his brief stage in the Ursulina Convent, the spell is done . The rest of the incredible and merciless facts censored so many times is at last revealed in all its crude nakeness.
The Exorcism processes made in the Grandier humanity are terrible and the insanity in the name of God are extraordinary told for Aldous Huxley one of the most brilliant and prolific minds of the british literature .
I really think this may be weel the most remarkable work done for Huxley in all his outstanding career.
Ken Russell a british film maker adapted this one to make The Demons in 1977 .
I can garantee you it will be hard to abandon this reading till you finnish .

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Summary: HELL ON EARTH: THE MARTYRDOM OF A POLITICAL SINNER
Review: This is a very well researched historical account of hell in this world, by the author of the better known opus Brave New World and The Doors of Perception of Heaven and Hell.
The historical situation of the Catholic Church and the Jesuits, the politics in France during the 17th Century, the downfall of the Huguenots, all constitute the fabric were the personal drama and martyrdom of father Urbain Grandier are sewn.
POLITICAL BACKGROUND: Cardinal Richelieu is directing the policy of France, during the reign of Louis XIII. After Richelieu convinces the King that self-government of small provincial towns must end, the feudal nobility lose their independence by an edict calling for the destruction of their castles and walls, whilst the Hughenots are being crushed by force. One of these towns is Loudun, where the priest (a Jesuit) is Urbain Grandier, an intellectual priest of 35, that knows the meaning and consequences of the edict calling for the destruction of the fortified walls of Loudun. Consequently, when Laubardemont, an agent of the Cardinal Richelieu arrives in the town, he is confronted and stopped by Grandier.
GRANDIER'S VICES: Father Grandier is strikingly handsome and a sensualist. His vows of celibacy have not prevented him from fathering a bastard child with the daughter of Trincant, the town magistrate, and performing an illegal marriage with Madeleine, a young lady with whom he has fallen in love.
THE ANGELICAL DEVIL: The Convent of the Ursulines in Loudun is ruled by Sister Jeanne of the Angels, a young humped back noun, with a beautiful face. She develops an obsession with Grandier and has sensual visions which involve the young priest. When she hears about the illicit marriage, she gets mad and falsely accuses the priest of sorcery and lewdness.
THE CONSPIRACY: Grandier's enemies (Laubardemont, Trincant, Father Mignon and others) grasp the false accusation as the means with which the destruction of the priest can be achieved. They accuse Grandier of sorcery and sent for an exorcist, Father Barre, who starts performing a series of exorcisms never seen before in France. The methods used by him and his assistants to extract the devils reputedly within the bodies of the nuns are base and sadistic. From Sister Jeanne's altered mind come the screams and the behavior that affect the other nuns. From there, collective hysteria spreads and as the nouns bask in their notoriety, their fantasies become more and more unreal. Those who oppose this infernal circus, on the grounds that the exorcists are the ones depraved, deliberately provoking the nouns, are arrested by Laubardemont, who wants to see the matter through. Both Richelieu and his agent are well aware of Grandier's innocence but the raison d' Etat calls for the destruction of the young priest.
THE TRIAL AND MARTYRDOM: Not surprisingly, based on the hysterical accusations of the nouns, Grandier and Madeleine are arrested. Grandier is brought to trial and found guilty of sorcery. He is viciously tortured, vainly, in order to extract a confession of his guilt. When Grandier is burnt alive at the stake, in the public square of Loudun, finally the walls of Loudun can be demolished.
BALANCE: A very stirring and moving account of these tragic events, dotted with a psychological analysis of the protagonists of the drama and some insightful reflections about the ruthless workings of politics, this is my favorite Huxley's book. UNFORTUNATELY OUT OF PRINT, BUT NOT A NOVEL, A SAD INQUIRY INTO EVIL