The Economist - USA (2020-08-29)

The EconomistAugust 29th 2020 Books & arts 69

1

S

incetheyfirstcametoprominencein

the alehouses of 18th-century London,

the Freemasons have proved adept at self-

promotion. From their blindfolded initia-

tion ceremony, obscure rituals and sym-

bols and infamous handshake, the organi-

sation has grasped the powerful attraction

of mystery as a recruiting tool. Today the

secret society has around 6m members,

most of them in America.

Conspiracists have long speculated that

these individuals are part of a secret “world

order”, with ties to the Illuminati and sa-

tanic cults. Debunking these theories is

relatively easy, but in his new book John

Dickie goes much further. Based on years of

research into the archives of the Grand

Lodges, he has produced a global history of

the organisation, explaining how the

brand spread far beyond Europe. “The

Craft” is a fascinating tale of imperial trade,

warfare and scientific progress which pre-

sents the Masons as a response to the

broader development of the modern world.

In their simplest form the Freemasons

are groups of (almost exclusively) men,

who undertake to pursue a “beautiful sys-

tem of morality” and self-improvement ac-

cording to a symbolic code. Their society is

united by pledges to defend rational, en-

lightenment values, and over the centuries

has attracted many high-profile members,

including Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,

Winston Churchill and Walt Disney. In this

account, however, Mr Dickie veers away

from celebrity biography to focus on the

broader membership. His characters are

idealists and misfits—political exiles and

refugees, traumatised soldiers, addicts

who have overcome their vices. Their orga-

nisation, says Mr Dickie, is essentially a

network of patronage. But he emphasises

how many Masons treat its values of

friendship, respect, integrity and charity as

genuine anchors in their lives, not simply

as window dressing for a practical agenda.

It is tempting to see the Masons as an

elite clique of white, male, middle-class

gatekeepers. And that has often been true.

But the outfit described in “The Craft” is

more diverse. In early modern Europe, Mr

Dickie writes, the Lodges were among the

few places where men from different class-

es could socialise. The Masons wore (and

still wear) gloves during their meetings “so

thatnoBrothercantellthedifferencebe-

tweenthehandsofa Dukeandthehandsof

a dustman”.Slaveswereforbiddentojoin,

but several Americanbranches, suchas

thatledby PrinceHall,ablack leather-

workerfromBoston,playeda roleinthe

abolitioniststruggle.IntheorytheMasons

donotacceptfemales,yetMrDickiemeets

OliviaChaumont,whoin 2007 becamethe

order’sfirsttransgendermember.

MostbooksabouttheMasonsspeculate

ontheextenttowhichtheyhaveshaped

history.MrDickieismoreinterestedinthe

oppositequestion. He shows how reac-

tionarieshaveconsistentlyprojectedtheir

darkestfearsontothesociety.In18th-cen-

turyLisbon,astheInquisitionenteredits

decline,theCatholicauthoritiespresented

theMasonsasanillicitgaycult.Afterthe

FrenchrevolutiontheEnglishfearedthem

asJacobinagitators;HitlerandMussolini

rankedthemamongfascism’smostdan-

gerousfoes.

Forallthat,inmomentsofviolenceand

politicalchaostheMasonshavetendedto

comeoutontop.MrDickieisalsoa histori-

anoftheMafia,andhesuggestsa connec-

tionbetweenItalianLodgesandorganised-

crimesyndicates.SomeleadingMasons,

suchasLicioGelli,theheadofItaly’sp 2

Lodgeinthe1970s,havecollaboratedprof-

itablywithterroristsandmoney-launder-

ers.Accordingtoa formerGrandMasterin

Calabria, 28 outof 32 Lodgesintheregion

were known to be controlled by the

’Ndranghetaasrecentlyasthe1990s.

“TheCraft”isa well-researchedaccount

thatdismantles any lingering suspicion

that the Freemasons are preparing for

worlddomination.Almostallsuchcalum-

niesassumetheyhavesomeformofcen-

tralgovernment—Mr Dickiemakesclear

that there is no such thing. While the

Lodgessharesomecoreprinciples,theyare

remarkablyvarious.Masonshavebeenrev-

olutionaries and reactionaries, progres-

sives and conservatives. By chronicling

theseshifts,MrDickiehasturnedlegend

intohistory. 7

The Freemasons

Inside the Lodge

The Craft: How the Freemasons Made the

Modern World.By John Dickie.

PublicAffairs; 496 pages; $32. Hodder &

Stoughton; £25

Join the club

F

ifteen million readers have waited

five years for a new novel by the pseud-

onymous Italian writer Elena Ferrante, au-

thor of a riveting quartet of stories set in

Naples that shot her to global fame. “The

Lying Life of Adults”, a dark tale, does not

disappoint. Yet it also demands more of Ms

Ferrante’s many fans by probing even more

painfully the oppression of women that

drove her explosive Neapolitan saga.

Like “My Brilliant Friend”, the first in

that series, this is a story of growing up: the

universal struggle to separate from the

family and establish a self. Ms Ferrante’s

genius lies in the laser focus she brings to

bear on female experience. In often lacerat-

ing detail, she portrays their protracted

Elena Ferrante’s new novel

The second sex

The Lying Life of Adults.By Elena Ferrante.

Translated by Ann Goldstein. Europa; 324

pages; $26 and £20