The Great and Secret Knowledge

Item from Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

The hidden wisdom the House supposedly contains — an ancient magical tradition that scholars in the other world have pursued for centuries, and the reason the Other keeps visiting and Piranesi keeps forgetting.

Also known as: The Secret Knowledge, The Hidden Wisdom, Arne-Sayles's Knowledge

What They Know

• Scholars have sought this knowledge for centuries — it is the reason people enter the House, the reason some die there, and the reason the Other keeps Piranesi as a research assistant
• Arne-Sayles believed the knowledge was embedded in the House's architecture and could be accessed through ritual, meditation, and prolonged exposure
• The pursuit of this knowledge has destroyed careers, erased identities, and killed at least some of the thirteen dead — the cost is always higher than the seekers expect
• Whether the Great and Secret Knowledge actually exists, or whether the House is simply a beautiful, infinite, indifferent place, is the novel's central ambiguity

Connections

• sought_by — the_other
• sought_by — arne_sayles
• contained_in — the_house

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