Arthur Edward Waite

Belle and the Dragon Arthur Edward Waite

Arthur Edward Waite (02/10/1857 - 19/05/1942), commonly known as A. E. Waite, was an American-born British poet and scholarly mystic who wrote extensively on occult and esoteric matters, and was the co-creator of the Rider-Waite Tarot deck. An illustrated fairy tale published by Waite 15 years before the release of the famous Rider-Waite Tarot cards, "Belle and the Dragon" is an allegorical homage to the Stuart-Menteath family and their occult activities at Toftrees (as the mythic land of Ravendale). Allegorical characters in the book include his taciturn wife Ada (as the dormouse), his friend and illustrator Evelyn Stuart-Menteath (as the Dragon), Evelyn's outgoing sister Dora (as the heroine), and of course Waite himself (as the mystic).