This 1842 novel by Edward Bulwer-Lytton tells a complicated story of love and occult aspiration, interlacing three separate plots. The first chapters give few clues to the fascinating mysteries revealed later in the book, but the wait is worth the effort. The seven parts of the novel give an indication of a sevenfold path of spiritual development lying behind the story itself. The fourth section, "The Dweller of the Threshold," is a highly significant expression of profound spiritual experience, and this book is one of the finest examples of spiritual fiction. The author himself noted, "As a...