Apart from a brief mention in the article about Anthony Hope, whose fictional country Ruritania may well have inspired her fictional Empire and surrounding countries, Violet Needham has not previously been featured on here.
Some of her books, the Stormy Petrel stories in particular, are full of exciting and romantic adventures in glamorous settings and some even have supernatural elements, but most of them are not relevant to this blog.
While working on articles about John Buchan's books, I was reminded of some characters and scenes from one of Violet Needham’s books. I decided to take another look at Pandora of Parrham Royal (1951), which I last read many years ago.
I bought a copy online and found the material that I vaguely remembered. In the light of what I have since learned about unseen influences, it seems much more significant now than it did at the time.
Pandora of Parrham Royal may not be one of Violet Needham’s best books when it comes to the characters and storyline - I much prefer the Stormy Petrel series - but it has inspired an article because it has some elements in common with John Buchan's books and it provides yet another example of someone who uses occult powers to get what they want.
Much of the plot and most of the characters in Pandora of Parrham Royal are not relevant to this article.
The main character of interest is called Themistocles Papadopoulis.
He has attributes in common with some really horrible black magicians who have been featured on here, although, unlike Stella Gibbons’s occultist Esmé Scarron and Robin Jarvis’s appalling warlock Nathaniel Crozier, he is not really evil nor is he involved with black magic as such.
About Mr Papadopoulis
Mr Papadopoulis has a touch of the typical Luciferian hero/villain about him. He is a man of mystery. He has dark hair and melancholy black eyes that sometimes smoulder with passion; he sometimes gives an impression of great power and arrogance; he is magnetic and charming; he smiles ironically and has a compelling gaze; he also hypnotises people. He makes people like him whether they want to or not.
Like Esmé Scarron, he is extremely wealthy. He has cultivated tastes.
Esmé Scarron goes without sleep almost indefinitely; by coincidence Papadopoulis is indifferent to sleep.
Anyone who gets in the way of Esmé Scarron or Nathaniel Crozier pays for it; Papadopoulis is a very dangerous man and anyone who crosses him pays a terrible penalty.
Esmé Scarron is influenced by the alchemist Paracelsus; Papadopoulis has connections to the god Dionysus. He may even be possessed by him on occasion, which would explain his powers and the effect that he has on people.
Nathaniel Crozier is surrounded by women who become huge black dogs that viciously attack people; Dionysus is surrounded by maenads, frenzied women who tear people to pieces.
Mr Papadopoulis’s mission
Like so many of his kind, Papadopoulis is after something and is determined to get it.
He comes to England from Greece in search of a lost treasure. Bought in good faith by an Englishman in the early 1800s, it was actually stolen goods. Papadopoulis is descended from the hereditary guardians of this priceless collection of gold and silver objects, and he wants it back.
The problem is that the treasure has gone missing presumed stolen. It has not been seen for almost 100 years.
Mr Papadopoulis is convinced that it is still hidden nearby. He uses both his charm and his special powers to try to get information from various descendants of the Englishman who bought the collection.
In fairness, he is not just a thief; he is willing to pay an extremely large amount of money in return. He is also open about his mission, his plans to explore and excavate the area and the results of his investigations.
Mr Papadopoulis works his magic
The effect that Papadopoulis has on some people is sometimes similar to the effects that Esmé Scarron and Nathaniel Crozier have on their respective victims Meg Lambert and Jennet.
One of Papadopoulis’ main targets is General Parrham, whose ancestor brought the treasure home from Greece.
Soon after their first meeting, the General becomes aware of a strange sensation, a feeling of apprehension because some alien influence, some mysterious power, is abroad. He says that there is something strange about his Greek visitor, although he does find him agreeable.
They have a long conversation during which the General starts to shiver like Meg and comes down with an attack of malaria; he has no recollection of anything further. Similarly, Jennet has a bad headache and is unable to remember what she had been talking about with Nathaniel Crozier.
A lawyer later tells General Parrham that accounts of dealings with Papadopoulis typically end in no clear recollection of what was actually said. The individual concerned is taken ill, has an accident or receives news that drives everything else from his mind.
Another primary victim is General Parrham’s daughter Pandora, who is 12 years old. She has an extremely sensitive nature where unseen influences are concerned.
When Pandora first meets Papadopoulis, she feels a mixture of fear and attraction. She looks away, but feels a compulsion, an unspoken command, to look at him again.
She becomes a different person, cowed, miserable and distraught. She looks white and ill; she looks like a ghost.
An older boy notices that Papadopoulis’s arrival is followed by an outbreak of illness and distress in his relatives, but he still answers all the visitor’s questions. He too experiences strange sensations and great fear.
Mary the canary
Papadopoulis charms most of the characters in the story, at least for a while.
The main exception is a little girl called Mary. She is not only immune to his attraction but also allergic to his personality. His hypnotic spell does not work on her; it makes her ill.
Mary is nine years old. She is delicate and nervous; she is quiet and reserved. Sometimes she is independent and aloof; sometimes she is a bit clingy, whiny and weepy, but this is understandable: she is suffering because several years earlier her parents were killed when a bomb hit her house and she was buried for a long time in the rubble.
She also has a sensitive, mediumistic temperament; she can hear and sense things that others cannot. Perhaps the shock caused by her ordeal helped to enhance her abilities.
Like Pandora, Mary is very affected by even the presence of Papadopoulis. When she first meets him, Mary fidgets, plays with her food then starts to cry, saying that she is frightened.
She later says that Papa has cruel eyes. She has a very bad nervous attack during the night; she is unable to eat or sleep, and cries because she is in a continual panic.
She perhaps senses that Papadopoulis/Dionysus wants her for a sacrifice.
Mary is like the canaries that coal miners took down the pits with them as an early warning system for the poisonous gas that would sometimes creep up on them. If the canaries showed signs of distress, the miners would evacuate immediately.
Unfortunately, human canaries are likely to be ignored, punished or told that they are making a fuss about nothing.
It all ends when Mr Papadopoulis finds the treasure and steals it; he sends a huge cheque as compensation. All the invalids start to recover the moment he leaves the house for good.
Violet Needham and John Buchan
Violet Needham was very well read. She would have been familiar with John Buchan’s thrillers.
Both authors came up with some very evocative titles.
Both authors were inspired by John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. She mentions Mr Standfast in one of her books; she may have got the reference direct from Bunyan or copied it from John Buchan.
The dark charismatic villain, the hypnotism and the attack of malaria remind me of Buchan’s Three Hostages, in which the dark villain Dominick Medina tries to hypnotise Richard Hannay, who often comes down with attacks of malaria.
Just as working on articles featuring Richard Hannay reminded me of Pandora of Parrham Royal, reading the latter book reminded me of Buchan’s Dancing Floor (1926), which features Sir Edward Leithen rather than Hannay. It is set partly in Greece, and mention is made of Pandora and Dionysus. It seems obvious to me where Violet Needham got much of her inspiration and material about Greek mythology from.
I wonder whether Pandora of Parrham Royal would ever have been written if Violet Needham had never read anything by John Buchan. It is a great pity that he died too soon to see the results of his influence.
Violet Needham (1876 to 1967):
