The Square of Sevens: A Journey Through Cards, Mystery, and Literary Alchemy
Some books don’t just tell a story—they invite you into a riddle, a ritual, a hidden map. The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson is one such book. It caught my imagination instantly. But as often happens, the story led me elsewhere—backwards in time, deeper into history, and into the pages of an arcane little book from 1897.
What I discovered was The Square of Sevens: An Authoritative System of Cartomancy by E. Irenaeus Stevenson, a curious volume published by Harper & Brothers. Part mystic manual, part literary enigma, it claimed to reveal a long-lost Romani method of fortune telling using ordinary playing cards. Stevenson even offered it “to John Davis Adams… a new forth-setting of an old mystery.”
“To the untrained eye, a card is but a card. But to the knowing mind, each bears the weight of fate, the whisper of what is—and what may be.”
E. Irenaeus Stevenson, The Square of Sevens (1897)
As noted in the introduction to the 1897 edition of The Square of Sevens, few even among the most inquisitive book-hunters of the modern age—or those of the past two or three generations—have encountered this “scarce and curious little volume.” Known as The Square of Sevens, and the Parallelogram by Robert Antrobus, the book is described as “a friendly literary resurrection.” Its title may suggest dry mathematics, but what lies within is anything but. With its solemn faith in mystical gravity, its eccentric capitalizations, and its sly asides (while always sticking “strictly close to business”), the work possesses both a literary spirit and an occult character all its own.
It is this peculiar blend of sincerity and whimsy that makes it a fascinating ancestor to Laura Shepherd-Robinson’s novel—a work that resurrects not just a system of divination, but a forgotten literary tone.
The Square of Sevens: A Journey Through Cards, Mystery, and Literary Alchemy
What Is the Square of Sevens?
At its core, the Square of Sevens is a system of cartomancy—the art of telling fortunes with playing cards. It is distinct from tarot, though it shares similar symbolic and intuitive roots. Cards are arranged in a square pattern, then interpreted through layers of meaning and sequence.
But this system never became widely practiced. Instead, it lingered in the margins—a literary curiosity whispered about in esoteric circles. Some researchers, like tarot scholar Mary K. Greer, even suspect the 1897 book was a cleverly crafted hoax, using the language of mystery to create something between satire and spell.
Still, that’s the wonder of such books: they don’t need mass acceptance to feel real. Their power lies in possibility.
Laura Shepherd-Robinson’s and the Square of Sevens
Fast forward to 2023, and author Laura Shepherd-Robinson breathes new life into this forgotten system in her historical novel The Square of Sevens.
Her heroine, Red, is the daughter of a Romani fortune teller who inherits the Square of Sevens method as both a legacy and a survival tool. Set in 18th-century England, the novel charts Red’s journey through deception, high society, and long-buried secrets. Each card reading becomes a turning point. Each shuffle of the deck is a step closer to truth—or danger.
“People like to say they seek the truth. Sometimes they even mean it. The truth is they crave the soft, quilted comfort of a lie.”
Laura Shepherd‑Robinson, The Square of Sevens
What makes the book so compelling is how Shepherd-Robinson uses the cartomancy system not just as atmosphere, but as architecture. It drives the plot. It deepens the mystery. And most importantly, it gives voice to a character caught between fate and self-determination.
Why This Book—and This Mystery—Still Matters
Why do books like The Square of Sevens continue to resonate?
Because they remind us that stories are not just for entertainment—they’re tools of meaning-making. We turn to them, like fortune cards, in search of guidance, clarity, and connection. We’re all looking for signs—sometimes in ink and paper, sometimes in symbols and silence.
And while The Square of Sevens may not be a household name in the world of cartomancy, its legacy has been revived in the most magical way: through fiction, through memory, through literary fate.
My Takeaways
Hidden knowledge often returns in unexpected forms—through a novel, a symbol, a half-forgotten system
Even obscure books can shape the future of storytelling
Our hunger for meaning is timeless, whether we find it in a deck of cards or a well-written sentence
Thank you for joining me in my Reading Room. Until our next story, may your reading bring you joy and quiet wonder.
Rebecca
#bookReview #bookReviews #EIrenaeusStevenson #fiction #FictionSalon #GothicFiction #HistoricalFiction #LauraShepherdRobinson #Mystery #RebeccaSReadingRoom #SquareOfSevens
Avaline Rose Quinn | Author
In Ivy and Ink
Jacob Mascarenhas
Rebecca's Reading Room
Lesering.de
Skelly
Nikkie Sinclair