Simon Iff is the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

of a series of short

detective stories A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

written by

occultist The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mystic ...

Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley ( ; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, novelist, mountaineer, and painter. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pr ...

. He is portrayed as a mystic, magician, world traveller, high society figure and great detective who is advanced in years but possesses a thorough insight into human psychology. According to publisher, editor and Crowley scholar

William Breeze William Breeze (born 1955), also known by his neo-Gnostic bishop title of Tau Silenus, is an American writer and publisher on magick and philosophy. He is the Sovereign Patriarch, or supreme governing cleric, of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica (E ...

, the character is based on Crowley's idealised self-image of his own old age. The stories typically revolve around an apparently unsolvable crime, which is eventually untangled by Iff's magical and psychological logic. Crowley explained the method of crafting a Simon Iff story in simple terms:

Publication history

The Simon Iff stories were written during a visit to

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

in December 1916, primarily as a means of alleviating Crowley's financial hardships. The mystic was verging on bankruptcy, a result of his lifestyle, and extravagant self-publishing, while having never earned a wage. The initial collection of six stories which Crowley penned would be labelled ''The Scrutinies of Simon Iff.'' Crowley would later write twelve more stories under the title ''Simon Iff in America'', six stories as ''Simon Iff Abroad'', and two final stories as ''Simon Iff Psychoanalyst.'' ''The Scrutinies of Simon Iff'' were first published in 1917–1918 in the New York publication ''The International'' under the pseudonym Edward Kelly (presumably a nod to

Edward Kelley Sir Edward Kelley or Kelly, also known as Edward Talbot (; 1 August 1555 – 1597/8), was an English Renaissance occultist and scryer. He is known for working with John Dee in his magical investigations. Besides the professed ability to se ...

, the Elizabethan alchemist and enochian magician). There is an edition of ''The Scutinies of Simon Iff'' published by Teitan Press; while a 2012 Wordsworth Editions release under their "Tales of Mystery & the Supernatural" line, contains the complete works. Simon Iff also appears in Crowley's most widely read novel '' Moonchild'' (1929).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iff, Simon Author surrogates Characters in British novels of the 20th century Characters in fantasy literature Fictional British detectives Fictional characters who use magic Fictional English people Fictional gentleman detectives Fictional paranormal investigators Fictional psychologists Fictional travelers Literary characters introduced in 1917 Male characters in literature Occult detective fiction Thelema