Swan King

Christopher McIntosh was born in England in 1943 and grew up in Edinburgh. He studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford University and German at London University. Later, he returned to Oxford to take a doctorate in History. As a writer, he has specialized in the history of ideas, central European history and the Western esoteric tradition. In addition The Swan King, he has written two books on the Rosicrucians, a biography of the French occultist Elphias Levi and his most recent work, Gardens of the Gods, is to be published by I.B.Tauris in 2003.

• PrefaceThe Northern Apollo RebornThe Captive YearsFrom Cage to ThroneThe Coming of the FriendThe Second LolaA Triumph, an Idyll and a PartingGermany in Turmoil SophieLilla...and OthersWagnerian StrainsA Crucial Decade 1866-1876Fantasies in StoneDreams of El DoradoLudwig II and the TheatreForbidden LongingsFarewell to WagnerThe Twilight YearsThe Trap ClosesProphecies FulfilledEpilogue: The Cult of the Swan King