History Literature / Ardath

[[caption-width-right:350:Sah-luma, Prince of Poets, Poet Laureate of Al-Kyris.]]

Marie Corelli was a Christian mystic/spiritualist and the author of many other Victorian fantasy-romances including ''Literature/ARomanceOfTwoWorlds''. Her stories often had strong [[AnAesop Aesops]] about the hypocrisy of society, unfairness towards women, and cold rationality without compassion or spirituality. She believed in universal health care and women's right to vote. She wrote of drug addiction in ''Wormwood'', illegitimacy in ''Innocent'' and adapted the Theatre/{{Faust}} legend in ''The Sorrows of Satan'', which was made into a film. She was a friend of Creator/{{Ouida}}.

[[quoteright:225:http://www.pyracantha.com/gallery/Fantasy/Sah-Luma,%20Prince%20of%20Poets%201975%20worked.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:225:Sah-luma, Prince of Poets, Poet Laureate of Al-Kyris]]

* MarySuetopia: Al-Kyris is a place where poets are very highly regarded members of society, although Sah-luma is considered ''the'' poet, kind of the Prince of Poets.

* TakeThatCritics: In ''spades''. Al-Kyris even has a professional Critic whose job is to snark at Sah-luma's work, call it maudlin, sentimental and so forth -- in short, all the charges that had been leveled at Corelli's own work.

Marie Corelli was a Christian mystic/spiritualist and the author of many other Victorian fantasy-romances. Her stories often had strong [[AnAesop Aesops]] about the hypocrisy of society, unfairness towards women, and cold rationality without compassion or spirituality. She believed in universal health care and women's right to vote. She wrote of drug addiction in ''Wormwood'', illegitimacy in ''Innocent'' and adapted the Theatre/{{Faust}} legend in ''The Sorrows of Satan'', which was made into a film. She was a friend of Creator/{{Ouida}}.

Marie Corelli was the author of ''Literature/ARomanceOfTwoWorlds'' and many other Victorian fantasy-romances. Her stories often had strong [[AnAesop Aesops]] about the hypocrisy of society, unfairness towards women, and cold rationality without compassion or spirituality. She believed in universal health care and women's right to vote. She wrote of drug addiction in ''Wormwood'', illegitimacy in ''Innocent'' and adapted the Theatre/{{Faust}} legend in ''The Sorrows of Satan'', which was made into a film.

* CelebrityIsOverrated: Theos wants to be remembered, but after his Al-Kyris experience he learns that fame is worthless and only love matters [[spoiler:besides the fact that half the stuff he wrote, he didn't really write]]. As superficial socialites and gossip columnists invite him to their parties he accepts so he can try to talk them into understanding his new perspective. Good luck, T.A.

* BoltOfDivineRetribution: The scene in which the city's gigantic central obelisk spontaneously crashes to the ground is still horrifying to read. There's another when an earthquake destroys the Temple of the Snake God.

* CrystalSpiresAndTogas: Al-Kyris is all about this. There are hints that it is the capitol of Atlantis.

* FantasticReligiousWeirdness: The temple and ceremonies for the snake god Nagaya are described in momentous detail.

[[http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/corelli/index.html Marie Corelli]]'s ''Ardath'' is a Victorian fantasy about Theos Alwyn, a Creator/LordByron {{Expy}} with WritersBlock. At a mysterious [[ShangriLa monastery]] he seeks help from the master Heliobas, whom he's been told can induce AstralProjection in willing subjects. When Heliobas refuses to do this, Theos exerts his own considerable PsychicPowers (which he's unaware he has) and puts himself into this state. Upon waking he writes a new poem, ''Nourhalma'', and says he has met an angelic woman, Edris, who asks him to meet her at "Ardath"[[note]]An open field close to Babylon, in the [[Literature/TheBible Apocryphal Book of Esdras]].[[/note]]. He feels he's known and loved her since before the beginning, but once he gets there she ascends to heaven before his eyes. Bereft, he passes out in the middle of the field, and this is where the story really starts.

* HaveAGayOldTime: The door to Lysia's banquet hall looks like a solid wall. Theos is wondering how they'll proceed past the "huge erection". Lysia, we've been told, is an unbelievably beautiful woman who inspires desperate lust in every man she gazes upon. Draw your own conclusions as to whether Corelli was having a little fun there. (Hint: She was a huge fan of [[CountryMatters Shakespeare]].)

* RageAgainstTheHeavens: Theos is ''really'' good at this.

Marie Corelli's ''Ardath'' is a Victorian fantasy about Theos Alwyn, a Creator/LordByron {{Expy}} with WritersBlock. At a mysterious [[ShangriLa monastery]] he seeks help from the master Heliobas, whom he's been told can induce AstralProjection in willing subjects. When Heliobas refuses to do this, Theos exerts his own considerable PsychicPowers (which he's unaware he has) and puts himself into this state. Upon waking he writes a new poem, ''Nourhalma'', and says he has met an angelic woman, Edris, who asks him to meet her at "Ardath"[[note]]An open field close to Babylon, in the [[Literature/TheBible Apocryphal Book of Esdras]].[[/note]]. He feels he's known and loved her since before the beginning, but once he gets there she ascends to heaven before his eyes. Bereft, he passes out in the middle of the field, and this is where the story really starts.

* MoneyDearBoy: Theos has never written for money, to the amusement of his friend Frank Villiers.

Marie Corelli's ''Ardath'' is a Victorian fantasy about Theos Alwyn, a Creator/LordByron {{Expy}} with WritersBlock. At a mysterious [[ShangriLa monastery]] he seeks help from the master Heliobas, whom he's been told can induce AstralProjection in willing subjects. When Heliobas refuses to do this, Theos exerts his own considerable PsychicPowers (which he's unaware he has) and puts himself into this state. His experience not only gives him a new poem, ''Nourhalma'', but leads him to a field called Ardath, where he meets Edris, an angelic woman. He feels he's known and loved her since before the beginning, but she ascends to heaven before his eyes. Bereft, he passes out in the middle of the field, and this is where the story really starts.

Upon awaking, Edris is there and assures him it wasn't AllJustADream -- but then she vanishes again, so he returns to London. ''Nourhalma'' is a huge hit, but he experiences SoWhatDoWeDoNow and constantly compares what he's learned and experienced in Al-Kyris with modern life in London. He goes wandering through Europe, comes to believe in Christ -- though not in Christianity as we know it -- and eventually finds Edris again.

* CelebrityIsOverrated: Theos wants to be remembered, but after his Al-Kyris experience he learns that fame is worthless and only love matters [[spoiler:besides the fact that half the stuff he wrote, he didn't really write]]. As superficial socialites invite him to their parties he accepts so he can try to talk them into understanding it. Good luck, T.A.

* ReligionIsRight: Christianity really isn't stupid after all! At least in Corelli's more spiritualized version.
* ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne: The prophet Khosrul. He has seen a vision of God taking the form of an ordinary man who preaches love and sanctifies humanity, is persecuted and crucified, but rises from the dead. This will happen about 5000 years from the time he saw it.[[note]]As Corelli points out, many early civilizations really had a prophecy of God being born as a world-redeeming child.[[/note]] For this and other prophecies, Khosrul is condemned to death.
** When Theos shouts that this already happened over 1800 years ago (it did, from his perspective), Sah-luma smooths it over as a BigLippedAlligatorMoment.

* VisionQuest: Theos is on one initially.

* 100AdorationRating: What Sah-luma has. He is not just respected and admired, but deeply loved by all. In fact, the Poet Laureate actually ranks equal or higher with the King.

** There's also the Servants of the Secret Doctrine of the Temple, who use [[LightningCanDoAnything electricity]] not only to create special effects for temple festivals, but for [[SinisterSurveillance]]. Lysia seems omniscient because she ''is''.

Upon awaking, he's sure it wasn't AllJustADream but since he still can't find Edris he returns to London. ''Nourhalma'' is a huge hit, but he experiences SoWhatDoWeDoNow and constantly compares what he's learned and experienced in Al-Kyris with modern life in London. He goes wandering through Europe, comes to believe in Christ -- though not in Christianity as we know it -- and eventually finds Edris again.

* 100%AdorationRating: What Sah-luma has. He is not just respected and admired, but deeply loved by all. In fact, the Poet Laureate actually ranks equal or higher with the King.

* BoltOfDivineRetribution: The scene in which the city's gigantic central obelisk spontaneously crashes to the ground is still horrifying to read.

* RageAgainstTheHeavens: Theos is good at this.

* ByronicHero: Theos Alwyn. Marie Corelli was fascinated with Lord Byron and a good friend of his widow Isabella. Knowing ol'George questioned God and Christianity (he was at best a Deist) Marie sought to redeem him on paper at least, figuring it would take an immensely dramatic experience to convert him.

* {{Seeker}}: Theos, although he doesn't realize it until he goes to Ardath.
* ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne: The prophet Khosrul. He has seen a vision of God taking the form of an ordinary man who preaches love and sanctifies humanity, is persecuted and crucified, but rises from the dead. This will happen about 5000 years from the time he saw it.[[note]]As Corelli points out, there really was a prophecy of God being born as a world-redeeming child in many early civilizations.[[/note]] For this and other prophecies, Khosrul is condemned to death.

* VirginSacrifice: What the snake goddess Nagaya demands as the price of her favor. Niphrata, the court musican whose unrequited love for Sah-luma has broken her heart, volunteers to be one.

* SucksToBeTheChosenOne: The prophet Khosrul. He has seen a vision of God taking the form of an ordinary man who preaches love and sanctifies humanity, is persecuted and crucified, but rises from the dead. This will happen about 5000 years from the time he saw it.[[note]]As Corelli points out, there really was a prophecy of God being born as a world-redeeming child in many early civilizations.[[/note]] For this and other prophecies, Khosrul is condemned to death.

* {{Bromance}}: Bordering on HoYay between Theos and Sah-luma. They seem to fall in love on sight, and there's a good reason. [[spoiler: Theos is Sah-luma reincarnated. He has met himself.]]
* ChastityCouple: It's implied that Theos and Edris may be this, since the narrator says they have a "spiritual love" that "far exceeds material passion" and that Edris is "unclouded by any shadow of sin."
* HaveAGayOldTime: The door to Lysia's banquet hall looks like a solid wall. Theos is wondering how they'll proceed past the "huge erection". Lysia, we've been told, is an unbelievably beautiful woman who inspires desperate lust in every man she gazes upon. Draw your own conclusions as to whether Corelli was having a little fun there.

* {{Seeker}}: Theos, although he doesn't realize it until he goes to Ardath.

* {{Seeker}}: Theos, although he doesn't realize it until he goes to Ardath.
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