The Arcanum (novel)
Encyclopedia
The Arcanum is a 2005
novel
by Tom Wheeler
. Set in 1919 it concerns the last case of occult-busters; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
, Harry Houdini
, H. P. Lovecraft
, and voodoo queen Marie Laveau
.
must investigate the murder of his mentor (and founder of the The Arcanum), Konstantin Duvall. To do so he must reunite the scattered members of the Arcanum: Harry Houdini
, H. P. Lovecraft
, and voodoo queen Marie Laveau
. Doyle finds himself embroiled in a story of war as old as time itself, for possession of the world’s most powerful—now missing—artifact: the Book of Enoch, the chronicle of God’s mistakes, within whose pages lie the seeds for the end of everything. Peopled with the twentieth century’s most famous—and infamous—figures, the stakes go beyond the realm of humankind—into the divine.
"He was the last of the great mystics, a remnant of the Middle Ages. He bore the likeness and courage of a Templar Knight, yet embraced the pervisions of an Inquisitor priest. He was as burnt-fingered and secretive as an alchemist, yet spoke dozens of languages, wrote manuscripts in cipher, and traveled the world with different identities, in the tradition of a court spy."
. It holds a range of items displayed on pedestals protected by globes of Venetian glass. The relics on display include;
will be directing a movie version of The Arcanum from a script penned by Thomas Wheeler. Paul Brooks
’ Gold Circle is producing with Scott Niemeyer and Norm Waitt on board as executive producers. Mandate Pictures will handle international sales.
2005 in literature
The year 2005 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*February 25 - Canada Reads selects Rockbound by Frank Parker Day as the novel to be read across the nation....
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Tom Wheeler
Tom Wheeler
Tom Wheeler is an American television writer and producer. He served as the executive producer and show runner for the NBC superhero series The Cape.- Television work :...
. Set in 1919 it concerns the last case of occult-busters; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
, Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini was a Hungarian-born American magician and escapologist, stunt performer, actor and film producer noted for his sensational escape acts...
, H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
, and voodoo queen Marie Laveau
Marie Laveau
Marie Laveau was a Louisiana Creole practitioner of Voodoo renown in New Orleans. She was born free in New Orleans....
.
Origins
Thomas Wheeler intended to write a novel about the Spiritualist Movement featuring a world of séances and shadows. The lead character was to embody the essence of the times, who would have the physical attributes of Houdini, the sleuthing skills of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creepy intellect of H. P. Lovecraft, and the otherworldly skill-set of a Marie Laveau. Eventually Wheeler decided to use the original personages, and create a new character, the enigmatic leader of the Arcanum — Konstantin Duvall. Wheeler's brother suggested a vital element of the tale with the question: "Why can't it be their last adventure?"Plot summary
The year is 1919 and Sir Arthur Conan DoyleArthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
must investigate the murder of his mentor (and founder of the The Arcanum), Konstantin Duvall. To do so he must reunite the scattered members of the Arcanum: Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini was a Hungarian-born American magician and escapologist, stunt performer, actor and film producer noted for his sensational escape acts...
, H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
, and voodoo queen Marie Laveau
Marie Laveau
Marie Laveau was a Louisiana Creole practitioner of Voodoo renown in New Orleans. She was born free in New Orleans....
. Doyle finds himself embroiled in a story of war as old as time itself, for possession of the world’s most powerful—now missing—artifact: the Book of Enoch, the chronicle of God’s mistakes, within whose pages lie the seeds for the end of everything. Peopled with the twentieth century’s most famous—and infamous—figures, the stakes go beyond the realm of humankind—into the divine.
Konstantin Duvall
Duvall was a mage and a mystic, an explorer and collector of all things occult, and leader of the Arcanum. Also an advisor to presidents and czars. He kept many secrets, one of which, The Book of Enoch, the third part of the Bible that was thought to be erased from existence in the first century, was stolen from its hiding place by a practitioner of the dark arts."He was the last of the great mystics, a remnant of the Middle Ages. He bore the likeness and courage of a Templar Knight, yet embraced the pervisions of an Inquisitor priest. He was as burnt-fingered and secretive as an alchemist, yet spoke dozens of languages, wrote manuscripts in cipher, and traveled the world with different identities, in the tradition of a court spy."
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Possessing the observational and deductive powers of his fictional creation, Sherlock Holmes, Doyle has served Queen and Country under the tutelage of Konstantin Duvall. As a member of the Arcanum, Doyle has been involved in many occult mysteries and was unhappy when the group disbanded.Harry Houdini
Houdini has moved on from his time with the Arcanum and is now a world-famous escape artist. He is currently making movies that highlight his escape skills and would prefer to forget all about his past occult exploits.H. P. Lovecraft
He was the Arcanum's youngest member, and is a leading authority on all matters of the occult. He was deeply hurt when the Arcanum disbanded and seems constantly on the verge of a nervous breakdown.Marie Laveau
The voodoo queen of the group, no one is sure of what powers she really has, but she claims to have been born in the 18th century. Doyle and Houdini suspect she is actually a descendant of the original Marie Laveau.Adventures of the Arcanum
A number of previous adventures of the Arcanum are mentioned throughout the novel, including;- The 1903 cattle mutilations in Cheltenham blamed on George EdaljiGeorge EdaljiGeorge Ernest Thompson Edalji was a solicitor from the West Midlands who became world-famous in 1907 when Sir Arthur Conan Doyle campaigned to have him declared innocent of maliciously wounding a pony in 1903....
- The 1905 discovery of the proof of mermaids in Madagascar
- The discovery and exorcism of the skull of "BluebeardBluebeard"Bluebeard" is a French literary folktale written by Charles Perrault and is one of eight tales by the author first published by Barbin in Paris in January 1697 in Histoires ou Contes du temps passé. The tale tells the story of a violent nobleman in the habit of murdering his wives and the...
" - The exploration of alien cities hidden in the Arctic
- The investigation of murders in ArkhamArkhamArkham is a fictional city in Massachusetts, part of the Lovecraft Country setting created by H. P. Lovecraft and is featured in many of his stories, as well as those of other Cthulhu Mythos writers....
, relating to a witch cult, caused by Thorton DeMarcus - The Boston exorcism, caused by Thorton DeMarcus
- The summoning of the Jinn, caused by Thorton DeMarcus
- A case involving the scroll of NyarlathotepNyarlathotepNyarlathotep, also known as the Crawling Chaos, is a malign deity in the Cthulhu Mythos fictional universe created by H. P. Lovecraft. First appearing in Lovecraft's 1920 prose poem of the same name, he was later mentioned in other works by Lovecraft and by other writers and in the tabletop...
, caused by Thorton DeMarcus
The Hall of Relics
The Hall of Relics is part of Konstantin Duvall's secret annex located in the British MuseumBritish Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
. It holds a range of items displayed on pedestals protected by globes of Venetian glass. The relics on display include;
- The remains of a mermaid, possibly of Atlantean descendancy (whose discovery Doyle was involved in).
- The Emerald TabletEmerald TabletThe Emerald Tablet, also known as Smaragdine Table, Tabula Smaragdina, or The Secret of Hermes, is a text purporting to reveal the secret of the primordial substance and its transmutations...
of Hermes Trismegistus - The cursed skull of "BluebeardBluebeard"Bluebeard" is a French literary folktale written by Charles Perrault and is one of eight tales by the author first published by Barbin in Paris in January 1697 in Histoires ou Contes du temps passé. The tale tells the story of a violent nobleman in the habit of murdering his wives and the...
" Giles De Laval (Doyle led the investigation of its discovery) - The Robes of St. Francis of AssisiFrancis of AssisiSaint Francis of Assisi was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the lay Third Order of Saint Francis. St...
- The Spear of Destiny
- The Book of EnochBook of EnochThe Book of Enoch is an ancient Jewish religious work, traditionally ascribed to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. It is not part of the biblical canon as used by Jews, apart from Beta Israel...
Doyle's leather bag
When Doyle was an active member of the Arcanum, he carried a leather satchel with some tools that were useful in his adventures, including;- Evidence collection kit: small paper bags, evidence tags, string, paper coin envelopes, small vials and numerous glass containers, dental casting materials and equipment, tweezers, scissors, rubber gloves, pencils, and a tape measure.
- Medical supplies: forceps, a scapel set, gauze bandages, a clinical thermometer, a vial of alcohol, hypodermic syringes, and a hand saw.
- Other items: a heavy leather sap, brass knuckles, and a crumpled deerstalker cap.
See also
- The List of SevenThe List of SevenThe List of Seven is a 1993 novel by Mark Frost. Though initially an occult murder mystery, the story brings in conspiracy theory, vendetta, horror, history, and Theosophy...
by Mark FrostMark FrostMark Frost is an American novelist, television/film writer, director, who is best known as a writer for the TV show Hill Street Blues and co-creator of the show Twin Peaks.-Personal life:... - The Six MessiahsThe Six MessiahsThe Six Messiahs is a 1995 novel by Mark Frost, a sequel to The List of Seven. The two main characters are real-life person Arthur Conan Doyle and fictional character Jack Sparks.-Summary:...
by Mark FrostMark FrostMark Frost is an American novelist, television/film writer, director, who is best known as a writer for the TV show Hill Street Blues and co-creator of the show Twin Peaks.-Personal life:... - NecronautsNecronautsNecronauts was a story that ran in the comics anthology 2000 AD, and was created by Gordon Rennie and Frazer Irving. It was this series that really brought Irving to public attention as his high contrast black and white artwork complimented Rennie's dark storyline.-Publication history:The outline...
by Gordon RennieGordon RennieGordon Rennie is a comics writer, responsible for White Trash: Moronic Inferno, as well as several comic strips for 2000 AD and novels for Warhammer Fantasy....
and Frazer IrvingFrazer IrvingFrazer Irving is a British comic book artist known for the 2000 AD series Necronauts. Irving studied art at the University of Portsmouth, England, after which he took various temporary jobs in London...
which also teams Doyle, Houdini and Lovecraft
Movie adaption
In November 2007, it was announced that Randall WallaceRandall Wallace
Randall Wallace is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and songwriter who came to prominence by writing the screenplay for the 1995 film Braveheart. His work on the film earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay and a Writers Guild of America award for Best...
will be directing a movie version of The Arcanum from a script penned by Thomas Wheeler. Paul Brooks
Paul Brooks
Paul Brooks is a British-born film producer.Brooks has a Humanities degree in English/Philosophy/Psychology and Sociology from the University of London...
’ Gold Circle is producing with Scott Niemeyer and Norm Waitt on board as executive producers. Mandate Pictures will handle international sales.