War in Heaven by Charles Williams
**Overview of "War in Heaven" by Charles Williams**
"War in Heaven," a novel by Charles Williams, intertwines elements of mystery, thriller, and spiritual warfare set in a contemporary English village. The story begins with the discovery of a corpse connected to Lionel Rackstraw, an editor at a family firm, and unfolds as the archdeacon of Fardles, Julian Davenant, becomes involved in a quest for the Holy Grail. The narrative explores the dichotomy between good and evil as characters vie for control over the Grail, believed to be a source of immense power for both divine and demonic forces.
Key figures include Gregory Persimmons, who desires the Grail for black magic, and the archdeacon, who recognizes the chalice as a symbol of God's presence rather than an object of desire. The novel highlights the spiritual implications of their choices, showcasing how ordinary individuals can become agents of supernatural influence. The conflict escalates as Gregory resorts to manipulation and violence, while the archdeacon and his allies engage in prayer and sacrifice to protect the Grail.
Ultimately, the story reflects Williams's belief in the constant presence of the supernatural in everyday life, illustrating the transformative power of faith and the enduring struggle between light and darkness. The climax features the manifestation of Prester John, a legendary protector of the Grail, underscoring the novel's themes of redemption and divine providence amidst human conflict.
War in Heaven by Charles Williams
First published: 1930
Edition(s) used:War in Heaven. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1970
Genre(s): Novel
Subgenre(s): Mystery and detective fiction; thriller/suspense
Core issue(s): Good vs. evil; mysticism; myths; spiritual warfare
Principal characters
Julian Davenant , an Anglican archdeacon of FardlesGregory Persimmons , a retired London publisherPrester John , the legendary keeper of the Holy GrailKenneth Mornington , an editor in the Persimmons family firmDuke of North Ridings , an aristocrat living near FardlesLionel Rackstraw , Kenneth’s coworkerBarbara Rackstraw , Lionel’s wifeAdrian Rackstraw , Lionel and Barbara’s sonDmitri Lavrodopoulos , the owner of a London pharmacy
Overview
War in Heaven begins with the discovery of an unidentified corpse under the desk of Lionel Rackstraw, an editor at the Persimmons family firm. A few days later, Julian Davenant, the archdeacon of the village church in Fardles, visits Kenneth Mornington, a young editor at the firm, who shows him a copy of Historical Vestiges of Sacred Vessels in Folklore by Sir Giles Tumulty. Tumulty’s manuscript suggests that the Holy Grail (the chalice Jesus and his disciples drank from at the Last Supper) is at the Fardles church. Gregory Persimmons, the firm’s retired owner who is involved in the occult and has read the manuscript, determines to possess the Grail at any cost as a source of power for black magic.
Gregory moves to Cully, a country house near Fardles, to begin his quest. After a mysterious break-in at the church, and after Gregory unsuccessfully tries to purchase the chalice from the archdeacon, Gregory’s henchman attacks the archdeacon and steals it. Lionel and Barbara Rackstraw and their son, Adrian, are vacationing at Cully at Gregory’s invitation. Realizing that his occult power will be enhanced if he can corrupt an innocent child by initiating him into black magic, Gregory befriends the four-year-old boy and plans to take him and the chalice out of England.
A few weeks later, Mornington and the Duke of North Ridings, a local aristocrat, visit the archdeacon, who is convinced Gregory has the chalice. When they visit Cully, the archdeacon grabs the Grail from where it is prominently displayed and flees with his two friends. Despite a frenzied car chase, Gregory is unable to catch them, and the three men spend the night at the duke’s London home. Although Gregory wants the chalice for black magic, his allies in black magic, Manasseh and Dmitri Lavrodopoulos, want to destroy it. When the archdeacon senses that someone is trying to destroy the Grail through supernatural means, he enlists Mornington and the duke for an all-night prayer vigil, and the chalice remains intact.
Gregory regains the Grail through manipulation. He scratches Barbara’s arm when she is playing with Adrian, and he applies ointment he had used for occult purposes to her wound. When Barbara reacts with extreme mental, spiritual, and physical distress, Gregory offers to have his supposed doctor-friend Manasseh heal her in exchange for the Grail. Although Mornington and the duke believe they must protect the chalice, the archdeacon is willing to exchange it to save Barbara. For the archdeacon, although God is manifested in and through all created objects, a human being is worth more than any object.
Gregory has the chalice again, and Barbara is healed, but in a mysterious, supernatural way that baffles Gregory and Manasseh. Her healing coincides with the arrival in Fardles of a young man named John who had suddenly appeared after the all-night prayer vigil. (Prester John, the legendary medieval priest-king whose task is to protect the Holy Grail, is the novel’s only supernatural character.) The two groups of people interested in the Grail—those who desire to manipulate supernatural power and those who seek instead to serve it—are clearly demarcated by their reactions to him: the archdeacon and his friends welcome the new visitor warmly, while Gregory and his acquaintances experience hostility and fear.
When Mornington and the duke arrive at Dmitri’s shop in London to retrieve the chalice Gregory brought there in preparation to leave England, Mornington is killed by occult powers, and the duke is made to summon the archdeacon. Freely offering himself in service to God’s will, the archdeacon is stretched out on the floor and bound, with the Grail on his chest in preparation for an occult ritual. He experiences desolation and separation from God, but when evil seems at the height of its power, the chalice begins to emit blazing light and energy, Prester John appears and releases the captives (the archdeacon, the duke, and Adrian), and Gregory hands himself over to the police for the murder of James Pattison, the unidentified victim at the beginning of the story. (Gregory had employed Pattison to commit petty crimes, but after Pattison’s conversion and desire to confess his wrongdoings, he needed to be silenced.)
In the closing scene, Prester John celebrates Mass in Fardles, with the archdeacon assisting and the Rackstraws and the duke in attendance. At the end of the service, John is transformed as light comes forth from the Grail, filling the whole church. The archdeacon dies peacefully on the steps of the altar, and John and the Holy Grail disappear.
Christian Themes
Although the story takes place on earth, the phrase “war in heaven” describes the conflict between Michael the archangel and the devil in Revelations 12:7. The novel’s title points to Charles Williams’s recurring theme that the supernatural is always imminent in the physical world and can break through into ordinary life at any time. Williams stretches the boundaries of conventional realistic fiction to dramatize his belief that divine and demonic powers can become manifest in various ways on earth and interact with and through human beings.
Given this premise, even the most ordinary people can become agents of supernatural powers—whether good or evil. The archdeacon is a small, plump man who quietly sings hymns as he goes about his daily tasks, but it is through his prayer and submission to God’s will that the lives of Adrian and the duke are spared and the Grail ultimately restored. Gregory, who seems to be a typical retiree pursuing his hobbies, is responsible for a murder, for Barbara’s (temporary) psychic disintegration, and the nearly successful corruption of Adrian. Williams is less concerned with presenting his characters in their social interactions with one another than he is in presenting their cosmic dimension, their choices and interaction with the forces of good and evil.
Adapting the Arthurian Grail myth to a modern setting, Williams traces people’s reactions to the chalice as an indicator of their spiritual condition. The archdeacon views it as a symbol that represents but does not contain God’s presence in the world, so he has no desire for it and acts only in accordance with the guidance he receives in prayer. However, Gregory perceives it as a magical object that can be used to increase his power and is willing to harm others to obtain it. Unlike the archdeacon, Mornington sees it as an important Arthurian symbol, and the duke sees it as a sacred object of veneration, but both feel impelled to protect it from evil, a choice that leads to Mornington’s death.
Williams’s technique of intertwining the supernatural and the natural in a credible way reflects his belief that because of the Incarnation, the world has changed forever and is filled with God’s presence. With this novel, Williams affirms God’s providence, revealing his power and goodness and the ultimate impotence of evil.
Sources for Further Study
Hadfield, Alice Mary. Charles Williams: An Explanation of His Life and Work. New York: Oxford University Press, 1983. Expanded, revised version of a 1959 work by Williams’s coworker at Oxford University Press, the book is a commentary on his novels, plays, poetry, and theology, woven into the context of his life. Index.
Horne, Brian, ed. Charles Williams: A Celebration. Herefordshire, England: Gracewing, 1995. Eighteen essays by colleagues, former students, and critics on various aspects of Williams’s life, theology, and writing. Index.
Howard, Thomas. The Novels of Charles Williams. New York: Oxford University Press, 1983. Plot summaries with running commentary on Williams’s seven novels; very helpful clarifications of some of his more difficult passages, symbols, and theological concepts.
Huttar, Charles A., and Peter J. Schakel, eds. The Rhetoric of Vision: Essays on Charles Williams. Lewisburg, Pa.: Bucknell University Press, 1996. Essays by British, American, and Canadian critics focused primarily on literary analysis of Williams’s fiction, poetry, and critical works; very detailed index.