'Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature': New review of "The Wizard of Mecosta"
Congratulations to Camilo Peralta (Joliet Junior College), the author of the book "The Wizard of Mecosta: Russell Kirk, Gothic Fiction, and the Moral Imagination" for receiving a review from G. Connor Salter published in 'Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature', Vol. 43 (2024):
Camilo Peralta’s "The Wizard of Mecosta" gives the first detailed look at Russell Kirk’s fiction, from his ghost stories to his three gothic novels. While the work particularly emphasizes Kirk’s gothic influences, Peralta also explores references to T.S. Eliot and Charles Williams in his fiction, as well as comments in his nonfiction about Lewis and Williams writing “tales of the preternatural.” The discussion provides important material for seeing Kirk as an Inklings-influenced author.
[Extract from book review on 'Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature', Vol. 43 (2024) > No. 1 (2024). Reviewer: G. Connor Salter. https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol43/iss1/19/ ]
The book is available to order here: The Wizard of Mecosta: Russell Kirk, Gothic Fiction, and the Moral Imagination
The Wizard of Mecosta" offers an extended analysis of the fiction of Russell Amos Kirk (1918-1994), a central figure in modern American conservatism who is often referred to as “the father” of the same. Born and raised in Michigan, Kirk was also a prolific writer of fiction, who published almost two dozen short stories and three novels over the course of his long career. At the heart of everything Kirk wrote was what he referred to as the “moral imagination,” a phrase he borrowed from Edmund Burke and often used to describe the instructive and enlightening purposes of great literature. Despite his prominent reputation as a public man of letters and the respect of fellow authors including Ray Bradbury and Stephen King, Kirk’s fiction was never very popular, and has fallen into almost complete obscurity in the present. "The Wizard of Mecosta" is the first full-length study ever published about Kirk’s fiction, and the only work of any length to consider the entirety of his output, including all of the stories and novels he wrote.
By emphasizing how Kirk’s fiction illuminates certain aspects of his social and political theory, "The Wizard of Mecosta" distinguishes itself from the half-dozen or more studies of the author’s life and work that have been published since his death in 1994. It should appeal to anyone with an interest in American conservatism, as well as fans and scholars of the sort of Gothic horror in which Kirk, unexpectedly, excelled. Through his stories of avenging ghosts and timeless journeys through the afterlife, he reminds us of the existence of “permanent things,” the core values and beliefs of Western society, which he strove all his life to preserve. It is high time that his fiction found a more appreciative, and larger, audience.
Edition 1st
ISBN 978-1-64889-853-2
Published in May 2024
Page last updated on May 15th 2025. All information correct at the time, but subject to change.
