The Hurricane: A Theosophical and Western Eclogue to Which is Subjoined a Solitary Effusion in a Summer’s Evening

Abstract

This chapter presents a newly edited text of the full 1796 publication. Gilbert’s discursive notes occupy the greatest proportion of the volume. In view of its long-standing reputation for incomprehensibility, the editorial commentary is thorough: explaining obscure passages, cross-referencing key ideas to the supporting chapters, and identifying sources from Gilbert’s wide range of reading. The text of ‘Solitary Effusion in a Summer’s Evening’, also included here, imagines the original Druidic inhabitants of Britain defeated by the invading Romans, remaining as spiritual presences in the landscape – in harmony with nature – in much the same way that the native Americans of The Hurricane survive as spirits, following their physical destruction at the hands of the invading Europeans.