Welcome to The Infernal Archives

Welcome, dear reader, to my little corner of the internet!

I’m Aurélie: translator, historian, infernal archivist, Kickstarter Creator, and wearer of all hats at Lazarus Press.

In this newsletter, I share some of the bizarre and wondrous things I uncover in the archives, talk about the delicate work of translating nineteenth century sources, and show you why history is a lot weirder than they ever taught you in school!

My Diabolical Work: Translating the Taxil Hoax

It was at Oxford as a curious doctoral student that I first fell in love with the smell of archives, old books and lost stories.

One day, I stumbled upon a story so astonishing that it changed my life.

You see, 130 years ago a French journalist convinced the Vatican that a secret Luciferian cult, hidden at the heart of Freemasonry, was plotting the birth of the Antichrist and the annihilation of the Catholic Church. 

These dastardly Masons took their marching orders from Satan himself—who appeared in the flesh to his Antipope Albert Pike, every Friday at three o’clock in the afternoon, in Charleston South Carolina.  

It was the hoax of the century.

This journalist’s name was Léo Taxil, and he became my obsession. 

Secretly written by Taxil and published in biweekly instalments over the course of five years, Le Diable au XIXème Siècle is the purported witness account of a Catholic doctor known only as “Doctor Bataille.” Part travel journal and part investigative report, filled with satanic schemes and a rich cast of shady characters, Le Diable was a thrilling, lurid, and sensationalist read, and an instant hit with Catholic audiences.

I immediately set to translating it.

This translation – which is the first time Taxil’s work will be published in English – feels particularly urgent when fringe conspiracy theories have begun to bleed into the mainstream. 

Today, 125 years after Taxil gleefully revealed his story to be a hoax, poorly translated snippets of Le Diable are bouncing around the dark corners of the internet – warped and weaponised to fuel fear and hatred. 

I hope that by offering the full story in its proper context, this translation might help tilt the scales, if only a little, towards facts, scholarship, and intellectual curiosity.

If nothing else, I hope this rollercoaster read will keep you on the edge of your seat!

Kickstarter: the Birth of a Book Cult

Last year, I turned to Kickstarter and asked people to help me rescue this madcap slice of history.

To my amazement, over a thousand fellow bibliophiles and history lovers from 40 countries joined forces and pledged $115,000 to save this story!

Thanks to them, after a century languishing in the archives, The Devil lives again, reborn in an alchemy of ink and paper.

If you too want to join the book cult, hit the button below to order Volume 1 of The Devil in the 19th Century!

The Devil in the 19th Century: The Story Continues

With Volume 1 published, I have returned to the Infernal Archives and am devoting myself to the translation of Volume 2 of Doctor Bataille’s “investigation”.

Buckle up and prepare for a wild ride as our good doctor travels to Charleston to track down the Antipope and uncover the plot to hasten the birth of the Antichrist!

Click the button below and hit ‘Notify Me’ to be the first to know when the Kickstarter campaign for Volume 2 goes live!

Why should I subscribe?

• Discover the true history behind The Devil in the 19th Century

• Meet the real people in Bataille's investigation 

• See archival photos of the places he visited

• Hear wild anecdotes about Léo Taxil's life: his duels, his love life, his dog Porthos...

• Learn about the delicate work of translating a nineteenth century satanic hoax

• Get a sneak preview of the secrets I uncover while translating Volume 2

I’m excited to be on this journey with you, dear reader. Who knows what mysteries the archives have in store for us next?

Your translator,

Aurélie ⛧

---