Ritual in the Dark (1960)
Colin Wilson
With an introduction by the author and a new foreword by Colin Stanley
Book Description
London is in the grip of a terrifying serial killer who is murdering women in Whitechapel in a manner reminiscent of the Jack the Ripper slayings 70 years earlier. Against this backdrop, Gerard Sorme, a lonely young Londoner, is at work on his first novel, in which he intends to express his belief in the meaninglessness of life. His own life begins to change in unexpected ways when he begins an intimate friendship with Austin Nunne, a wealthy and charming gay man with violent sexual desires. As the murders continue and the investigation unfolds, Gerald suddenly finds himself haunted by a terrible suspicion: could his new friend have anything to do with the crimes?
Colin Wilson’s classic first novel, Ritual in the Dark (1960), remains a chilling page-turner, a brilliant fusion of thrilling murder mystery and existential philosophy. This edition features a foreword by Wilson scholar and bibliographer Colin Stanley and the author’s introduction to the 1993 edition.
Colin Wilson
With an introduction by the author and a new foreword by Colin Stanley
Book Description
London is in the grip of a terrifying serial killer who is murdering women in Whitechapel in a manner reminiscent of the Jack the Ripper slayings 70 years earlier. Against this backdrop, Gerard Sorme, a lonely young Londoner, is at work on his first novel, in which he intends to express his belief in the meaninglessness of life. His own life begins to change in unexpected ways when he begins an intimate friendship with Austin Nunne, a wealthy and charming gay man with violent sexual desires. As the murders continue and the investigation unfolds, Gerald suddenly finds himself haunted by a terrible suspicion: could his new friend have anything to do with the crimes?
Colin Wilson’s classic first novel, Ritual in the Dark (1960), remains a chilling page-turner, a brilliant fusion of thrilling murder mystery and existential philosophy. This edition features a foreword by Wilson scholar and bibliographer Colin Stanley and the author’s introduction to the 1993 edition.
reviews
‘Brilliant . . . Magnificent! Murder mystery raised to major art!’ – Chicago Sun-Times
‘Exhilarating reading’ – The Listener
‘What an unforgettable, really great evocation. Terrible and tragic insight . . . an important book’ – Sunday Times
‘Exhilarating reading’ – The Listener
‘What an unforgettable, really great evocation. Terrible and tragic insight . . . an important book’ – Sunday Times
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BOOK DETAILS
ISBN: 1954321155 ISBN-13: 978-1954321151 $34.99 US, 452 pp. Case Laminate Hardcover Reprinted 2020 BOOK DETAILS
ISBN: 1948405660 ISBN-13: 978-1948405669 $22.99 US, 452 pp. Trade paper Published 2013 Reprinted 2020 |
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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.