''Lammas Night'' is a

fantasy novel Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. magic (paranormal), Magic, the supernatural and Legendary creature, magical creatures are common i ...

by the American-born author Katherine Kurtz, first published in paperback by

Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major American book publisher that is a subsidiary of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. Ballantine was founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. Ballantine was acquired by Random House in ...

in December 1983. The first hardcover edition was issued by Severn House in 1986.

Plot

''Lammas Night'' tells the story of a group of English

witch Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Enc ...

es who act to save their country from

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

attack during the Second World War. Woven within the story of their efforts are the visions and fragmented memories of a male witch, who gradually comes to realize his role in an ancient cycle of royal death, reincarnation, and sacrifice. The story opens with the British evacuation of

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

in May 1940. Among the evacuees is Captain Michael Jordan, an adherent of the "Oakwood Group" of occultists based at the fictional Oakwood Manor in Kent. Jordan is officially working for MI-6, as part of their Occult Studies Division, and he is carrying sensitive information proving that

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

is using occult means to plan for the invasion of Great Britain, an operation called Sealion. After his safe return to Oakwood, Jordan shares this Intelligence with Colonel John "Gray" Graham, his military superior and wartime leader of the Oakwood Group. While Gray uses Jordan's collected information to plan a more conventional psychological warfare campaign against the Nazi invasion, he also attempts to unify the many disparate groups of British occultists to work in concert on

Lammas Lammas (from Old English ''hlāfmæsse'', "loaf-mass"), also known as Loaf Mass Day, is a Christian holiday celebrated in some English-speaking world, English-speaking countries on 1 August. The name originates from the word "loaf" in referenc ...

night, one of the major Sabbats. Gray is at first unsuccessful. Deeply troubled by his failure in the face of such an overwhelming national crisis, he turns to a friend for solace. This friend, once a member of Graham's Intelligence section, is the (fictional) younger brother of both

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

and the

Duke of Windsor Duke of Windsor was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 8 March 1937 for the former monarch Edward VIII, following his Abdication of Edward VIII, abdication on 11 December 1936. The Duchy, dukedom takes its name from ...

, and is named Prince William,

Duke of Clarence Duke of Clarence was a substantive title created three times in the Peerage of England. The title Duke of Clarence and St Andrews has also been created in the Peerage of Great Britain, and Duke of Clarence and Avondale and Prince Leopold, Duke ...

. Intrigued by Gray's indirect references to occult matters during their discussions, Prince William presses Gray for more information. The Prince eventually volunteers to be the royal patron of the Oakwood Group and its Lammas night undertaking, but as Gray Graham works to develop his network of occultists the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

reaches its crescendo. At the same time, both he and William begin to experience terrifying flashbacks regarding their past lives. In order to succeed on Lammas night both men must face and come to terms with the meaning of these experiences.

Note

The events of the novel reflect an actual attempt by pagans and

wicca Wicca (), also known as "The Craft", is a Modern paganism, modern pagan, syncretic, Earth religion, Earth-centred religion. Considered a new religious movement by Religious studies, scholars of religion, the path evolved from Western esote ...

ns in Great Britain to aid the British war effort and forestall German invasion by occult means during the Second World War, as recounted in the wartime letters of

Dion Fortune Dion Fortune (born Violet Mary Firth, 6 December 1890 – 6 or 8 January 1946) was a British occultist, ceremonial magician, and writer. She was a co-founder of the Fraternity of the Inner Light, an occult organisation that promoted philoso ...

.Fortune, Dion. ''The Magical Battle of Britain'', Sun Chalice Books, 1993,

References

* 1983 American novels American fantasy novels Novels set during World War II {{1980s-fantasy-novel-stub