Man Without a Shadow (1963)
Colin Wilson
With a new introduction by Colin Stanley
Book Description
Gerard Sorme thinks the key to a more meaningful life lies in an expansion of human consciousness, and he believes that one way to expand it is through sexual experiences. He sets out to record in diary form his sexual encounters with various women: the middle-aged Gertrude, her teenage niece Caroline, and Diana, the wife of a mad composer determined to adapt Varney the Vampire into an opera. But Sorme finds his beliefs and ideas challenged when he meets the fascinating and dangerous Caradoc Cunningham, who seems to possess occult powers and who has developed his own methods of expanding consciousness through drugs, orgies, and black magic. And when Cunningham is targeted by his enemies, fellow occultists who he believes are directing the powers of evil spirits at him, Sorme will find himself caught up in Cunningham’s peril, culminating in his participation in a bizarre and frightening ritual. . . .
First published in 1963, Man Without a Shadow explores Wilson's philosophy in the form of a black magic thriller that draws on inspirations as diverse as the writings of Aleister Crowley and Montague Summers, Huysmans's Là-bas, and the ‘penny dreadfuls’ of Thomas Prest. This 50th anniversary edition includes the unabridged text of the first British edition and a new introduction by Wilson scholar Colin Stanley.
Colin Wilson
With a new introduction by Colin Stanley
Book Description
Gerard Sorme thinks the key to a more meaningful life lies in an expansion of human consciousness, and he believes that one way to expand it is through sexual experiences. He sets out to record in diary form his sexual encounters with various women: the middle-aged Gertrude, her teenage niece Caroline, and Diana, the wife of a mad composer determined to adapt Varney the Vampire into an opera. But Sorme finds his beliefs and ideas challenged when he meets the fascinating and dangerous Caradoc Cunningham, who seems to possess occult powers and who has developed his own methods of expanding consciousness through drugs, orgies, and black magic. And when Cunningham is targeted by his enemies, fellow occultists who he believes are directing the powers of evil spirits at him, Sorme will find himself caught up in Cunningham’s peril, culminating in his participation in a bizarre and frightening ritual. . . .
First published in 1963, Man Without a Shadow explores Wilson's philosophy in the form of a black magic thriller that draws on inspirations as diverse as the writings of Aleister Crowley and Montague Summers, Huysmans's Là-bas, and the ‘penny dreadfuls’ of Thomas Prest. This 50th anniversary edition includes the unabridged text of the first British edition and a new introduction by Wilson scholar Colin Stanley.
reviews
‘One of the more earnest and interesting writers of his generation.’ – The Guardian
‘Mr Wilson's vitality comes through. He writes a clear, light prose, and he makes his interests, however bizarre, seem important.’ – Punch
‘Compelling.’ – New Statesman
‘Mr Wilson's vitality comes through. He writes a clear, light prose, and he makes his interests, however bizarre, seem important.’ – Punch
‘Compelling.’ – New Statesman
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BOOK DETAILS
ISBN: 1939140277 ISBN-13: 978-1939140272 $17.99 US, 248 pp. Trade paper Published 2013 |
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AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Colin Wilson was born in Leicester in 1931. He left school at 16 and worked at various jobs while reading and writing in his spare time. His study The Outsider was published by Victor Gollancz in 1956 and became an overnight sensation in England and America, bringing widespread popular and critical attention to its 24 year old author; the book has never been out of print. He followed The Outsider with two further nonfiction works, Religion and the Rebel (1957) and The Age of Defeat (1959), which were not as well received, before turning to fiction in 1960 with Ritual in the Dark, a novel he had worked on since age 17.
He continued to write prolifically in numerous genres, both fiction and nonfiction, including works on the occult, crime, and serial killers. His prolific output of fiction includes two subsequent novels featuring Gerard Sorme, the protagonist of Ritual in the Dark--Man Without a Shadow (1963) and The God of the Labyrinth (1970)—as well as novels in the vein of H. P. Lovecraft, including The Mind Parasites (1967) and The Philosopher's Stone (1969).
Wilson published more than 150 books over a long career and lived for many years in Cornwall. He died in December 2013.
He continued to write prolifically in numerous genres, both fiction and nonfiction, including works on the occult, crime, and serial killers. His prolific output of fiction includes two subsequent novels featuring Gerard Sorme, the protagonist of Ritual in the Dark--Man Without a Shadow (1963) and The God of the Labyrinth (1970)—as well as novels in the vein of H. P. Lovecraft, including The Mind Parasites (1967) and The Philosopher's Stone (1969).
Wilson published more than 150 books over a long career and lived for many years in Cornwall. He died in December 2013.