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...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Cambridge University Press
2023
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In: |
New blackfriars
Year: 2023, Volume: 104, Issue: 1110, Pages: 179-189 |
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Wohl, Louis de 1903-1961
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Further subjects: | B
literary saints
B Astrology B Louis de Wohl B World War II B Christian historical fiction |
Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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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. |
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ISSN: | 1741-2005 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: New blackfriars
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1111/nbfr.12806 |