Editing Arthur Machen (section)

===Tragedy and acting: 1899–1910===
In 1899, Machen's wife Amy died of cancer after a long period of illness. This had a devastating effect on Machen. He only gradually recovered from his loss over the next year, partially through his close friendship with the poet [[A. E. Waite]]. It was through Waite's influence that Machen joined at this time the [[Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn]], though Machen's interest in the organization was not lasting or very deep.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shadowplayzine.com/Articles/hermetic_horrors.htm |title=Hermetic Horrors: Weird Fiction Writers and the Golden Dawn |author=Leigh Blackmore |year=1985 |work=Shadowplay |access-date=25 March 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091109074626/http://shadowplayzine.com/Articles/hermetic_horrors.htm |archive-date=9 November 2009 }}</ref>

[[File:House of Souls 1906.jpg|thumb|200px|''The House of Souls'' (London: Grant Richards, 1906), with cover designs by [[Sidney Sime]]]]
Machen's recovery was further helped by his sudden change of career, becoming an actor in 1901 and a member of [[Frank Benson (actor)|Frank Benson]]'s company of travelling players, a profession which took him round the country.

This led in 1903 to a second marriage, to Dorothie Purefoy Hudleston, which brought Machen much happiness. Machen managed to find a publisher in 1902 for his earlier written work ''Hieroglyphics'', an analysis of the nature of literature, which concluded that true literature must convey "ecstasy". In 1906 Machen's literary career began once more to flourish as the book ''The House of Souls'' collected his most notable works of the nineties and brought them to a new audience. He also published a satirical work, ''Dr Stiggins: His Views and Principles'', generally considered one of his weakest works.<ref>"''Dr Stiggins'' was not read in his day and is unreadable in ours" S.T. Joshi, ''The Weird Tale'' (University of Texas Press 1990), p. 17</ref>

Machen also was at this time investigating [[Celtic Christianity]], the [[Holy Grail]] and [[King Arthur]]. Publishing his views in [[Lord Alfred Douglas]]'s ''[[The Academy (periodical)|The Academy]]'', for which he wrote regularly, Machen concluded that the legends of the Grail actually were based on dim recollections of the rites of the Celtic Church. These ideas also featured strongly in the novel ''The Secret Glory'' which he wrote at this time, marking the first use in fiction of the idea of the Grail's surviving into modern times in some form, an idea much utilised ever since, as by [[Charles Williams (UK writer)|Charles Williams]] (''War in Heaven''), [[Dan Brown]] (''[[The Da Vinci Code]]'') and [[George Lucas]] (''[[Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade]]''). In 1907, ''[[The Hill of Dreams]]'', generally considered Machen's masterpiece, was finally published, though it was not recognized much at the time.<ref name="machensoc.demon.co.uk"/>

The next few years saw Machen continue with acting in various companies and with journalistic work, but he was finding it increasingly hard to earn a living and his legacies were long exhausted. Machen was also attending literary gatherings such as the New Bohemians and the [[Square Club (writers)|Square Club]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Simkin |first1=John |title=Arthur Machen |url=http://spartacus-educational.com/FWWmachenA.htm |website=Spartacus Educational |access-date=15 July 2018}}</ref>