HARPUR, Patrick 1950-

PERSONAL: Born July 14, 1950, in Old Windsor, England; son of Brian Victor Chaigneau and Joyce Alicia (a flamenco dancer; maiden name, Myers) Harpur. Education: St. Catharine's College, Cambridge, B.A., 1971. Politics: "Monarchist."

ADDRESSES: Agent—June Hall Literary Agency, 19 College Cross, London N1 1PT, England.

CAREER: Teacher of English and Latin at a private tutorial college in Weybridge, England, 1971-74; Research Services Ltd., London, England, market researcher, 1975-76; Marshall Editions Ltd., London, editor, 1978-83; full-time writer, 1983—. Wallop School for Boys, Weybridge, soccer coach, 1972.

WRITINGS:

(Editor) The Timetable of Technology: A Record of Our Century's Achievements, Joseph (London, England), 1982.

(Coeditor) Great Battlefields of the World, Joseph (London, England), 1985.

The Serpent's Circle (novel) Macmillan (London, England), 1985; St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1985.

The Rapture (novel) Pan Macmillan, 1986.

(Editor) Mercurius; or, The Marriage of Heaven and Earth (originally a modern alchemical journal), Macmillan (London, England), 1990.

Daimonic Reality: A Field Guide to the Otherworld, Arkana (London, England; New York, NY), 1995; republished, Pine Winds Press (Ravensdale, WA), 2003.

The Philosopher's Secret Fire: A History of the Imagination, Penguin (London, England), 2002.

SIDELIGHTS: Patrick Harpur is the talented author of both fiction and nonfiction books, and the editor of books on a variety of topics. Much of Harpur's interest lies in otherworldly realms. Harpur once told CA: "My interests—indeed, my passions—are both too eclectic and too personal to discuss without embarrassment: reticence is, or should be, a virtue to be cultivated. However, study of (and occasionally, contact with) St. Augustine, Renaissance alchemists, Soren Kierkegaard, the Dowayo tribe of the Cameroons, the poetry (and magical systems) of William Butler Yeats, God, immunology, Goethe's color theory, neo-platonism, analytical psychology, and early Russian literature have played an important part in what may laughingly be called my personal and literary development."

"Most of my writings have not been published, partly because they've never been submitted. However, they include a travel book on Africa, television plays, poetry, short stories, and a slim volume of metaphysics. I might add that writing is less a vocation than a consolation after failure, through lack of talent, to become a mystic."

Despite his claims that writing is more a "consolation" than a job, Harpur has published many successful works, including two fiction novels, The Serpent's Circle and The Rapture, and has edited a modern alchemical journal called Mercurius; or, The Marriage of Heaven and Earth, which was also published in book form. It is his nonfiction works, however, which have garnered the most attention. Harpur's Daimonic Reality: A Field Guide to the Otherworld, explores such otherworldly elements as monsters, apparitions, unidentified flying objects, vampires, fairies, witchcraft, and other unexplained phenomena.

Daimonic Reality: A Field Guide to the Otherworld, is divided into three sections: Apparitions, Vision, and Otherworld Journeys. Throughout the book, Harpur examines how the human imagination and perception of reality have been shaped by factors such as religion, folklore, and mythology. He introduces readers to the concept that there may be an Otherworld beyond what they know. He begins by explaining supernatural events themselves, then moves into evidence left behind by these events, and finally delves into otherworldly journeys, such as being abducted by a UFO. Rick Kleffel, a writer on the Agony Column Book Reviews Web site, noted, Harpur's "comprehensive knowledge of a wide variety of inexplicable events is impressive and entertaining." A critic in London's Sunday Times agreed, calling Daimonic Reality: A Field Guide to the Otherworld "an enjoyable trawl through otherworldly legends of saints and supernatural tricksters squeezing through the gap between this world and the spiritual universe behind it."

In Harpur's next book, The Philosopher's Secret Fire: A History of the Imagination, the author again explores the Otherworld, this time examining how perceptions have changed from supernatural explanations of odd phenomena, to a reliance on scientific observations and interpretations. He examines mythological and religious figures, as well as figures found in popular folklore and legends. Booklist's Donna Seaman called Harpur "a passionate explorer of the vast, varied, and vital Otherworld, the realm of spirit, soul, archetype, and the imagination." Eloise R. Hitchcock of Library Journal noted, "This fascinating book provides a historical look at the expressions of human imagination and how ideas of reality have been shaped over time."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

books

Reginal, Robert, Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, 1975-1991, Thomson Gale (Detroit, MI), 1992.

periodicals

Bestsellers, April, 1985, review of The Serpent's Circle, p. 11.

Booklist, January 1, 2003, Donna Seaman, review of The Philosopher's Secret Fire: A History of the Imagination, p. 812.

Books, February, 1990, review of Mercurius; or, The Marriage of Heaven and Earth, p. 16.

Books & Bookmen, March, 1985, review of The Serpent's Circle, p. 29; February, 1986, review of The Serpent's Circle, p. 75; July, 1986, review of The Rapture, p. 30.

British Book News, May, 1985, review of The Serpent's Circle, p. 299; October, 1987, review of The Rapture, p. 703.

Folklore, 1996, review of Daimonic Reality: A Field Guide to the Otherworld, p. 121.

Guardian (London), April 13, 2002, Vera Rule, review of The Philosopher's Secret Fire: A History of the Imagination, p. 13.

Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 1985, review of The Serpent's Circle, p. 190.

Library Journal, November 15, 2002, Eloise R. Hitchcock, review of The Philosopher's Secret Fire: A History of the Imagination, p. 79.

Los Angeles Times, May 26, 1985, Huston Horn, review of The Serpent's Circle, p. 9.

National Catholic Reporter, October 11, 1985, Lawrence S. Cunningham, review of The Serpent's Circle, p. 12.

New Statesman and Society, November 25, 1994, David V. Barrett, review of Daimonic Reality: A Field Guide to the Otherworld, p. 44.

Observer (London), June 8, 1986, review of The Rapture, p. 25; February 5, 1995, review of Daimonic Reality: A Field Guide to the Otherworld, p. 26.

Publishers Weekly, February 8, 1985, review of The Serpent's Circle, p. 69.

Punch, July 2, 1986, review of The Rapture, p. 46.

Sunday Times (London), January 7, 1996, review of Daimonic Reality: A Field Guide to the Otherworld, p. 10.

Times Literary Supplement, September 16, 1994, Nigel Barley, review of Daimonic Reality: A Field Guide to the Otherworld, p. 32.

online

Agony Column Book Reviews Web site, http://www.trashotron.com/ (July 25, 2002), Rick Kleffel, review of Daimonic Reality: A Field Guide to the Otherworld.

Idyll Arbor, Inc. Web site, http://www.idyllarbor.com/ (February 5, 2004), review of Daimonic Reality: A Field Guide to the Otherworld.*