The Book of Abramelin tells the story of an Egyptian mage named Abramelin, or Abra-Melin, who taught a system of magic to Abraham of Worms, a German Jew presumed to have lived from c.1362-c.1458.  Abraham travelled widely meeting with many sorcerers, magicians and cabalists - the greatest of whom was the man whose teachings are recorded here.

Already a key work within Hermetic studies, the text enjoyed a surge of popularity following this translation at the end of the 19th century.

Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers (8 or 11 January 1854-5 or 20 November 1918), was a British occultist.  He is primarily known as one of the founders of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a ceremonial magic order of which offshoots still exist today.  His wife was Moina Mathers (née Mina Bergson), sister of the philosopher Henri Bergson.