Louis de Wohl: Shady Astrologer, MI5 Recruit, Christian Storyteller

Using files declassified and released to Great Britain's National Archives, this article shows how Britain's domestic spy agency, MI5, recruited Louis de Wohl (1903-61), a flashy Hungarian astrologer and Christian writer to create horoscopes for Adolf Hitler during World War II. De Wohl wa...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Middleton, Darren J. N. 1966- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Wiley-Blackwell 2023
In: New blackfriars
Year: 2023, Volume: 104, Issue: 1110, Pages: 179-189
Further subjects:B literary saints
B Astrology
B Louis de Wohl
B World War II
B Christian historical fiction
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Parallel Edition:Non-electronic
Description
Summary:Using files declassified and released to Great Britain's National Archives, this article shows how Britain's domestic spy agency, MI5, recruited Louis de Wohl (1903-61), a flashy Hungarian astrologer and Christian writer to create horoscopes for Adolf Hitler during World War II. De Wohl was a controversial figure. His origin story does not check out. His MI5 handlers found him showy. And recent journalists dismiss him as a ‘persuasive fake’. Yet his pre-war fictions were adapted for cinema, his later theological novels remain bestsellers, and his personal story deserves greater attention if we are to better understand Christian historical fiction's popularity.
ISSN:1741-2005
Contains:Enthalten in: New blackfriars
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/nbfr.12806