The God of the Labyrinth (1970)
Colin Wilson
With a new introduction by Gary Lachman
Book Description
Gerard Sorme has been hired by a New York publisher to edit a book on Esmond Donelly, notorious 18th-century Irish rake, friend of Rousseau, Boswell and Horace Walpole, and author of a bawdy work on the deflowering of virgins. Sorme’s quest for information on Donelly takes him to the home of a pyromaniac and flagellant in Baton Rouge, the labyrinthine corridors of the British Museum, and a remote castle in Ireland. As he digs deeper into the mystery of Donelly, Sorme uncovers a tale of intrigue, conspiracy, and murder involving a secret society, the Sect of the Phoenix, that dates back to medieval times. But the Sect still exists, and Sorme’s researches have not gone unnoticed by powerful men who have their own reasons for wanting the truth about Esmond Donelly to remain hidden. . . .
The God of the Labyrinth (1970) is a novel in the mode of Jorge Luis Borges that explores two of Wilson’s major interests – philosophy and sex – in the form of a thrilling literary mystery. This edition, the first in more than 30 years, includes a new introduction by Gary Lachman and the original afterword by the author, in which he discusses the role of sex in literature and defends his work against charges of pornography.
Colin Wilson
With a new introduction by Gary Lachman
Book Description
Gerard Sorme has been hired by a New York publisher to edit a book on Esmond Donelly, notorious 18th-century Irish rake, friend of Rousseau, Boswell and Horace Walpole, and author of a bawdy work on the deflowering of virgins. Sorme’s quest for information on Donelly takes him to the home of a pyromaniac and flagellant in Baton Rouge, the labyrinthine corridors of the British Museum, and a remote castle in Ireland. As he digs deeper into the mystery of Donelly, Sorme uncovers a tale of intrigue, conspiracy, and murder involving a secret society, the Sect of the Phoenix, that dates back to medieval times. But the Sect still exists, and Sorme’s researches have not gone unnoticed by powerful men who have their own reasons for wanting the truth about Esmond Donelly to remain hidden. . . .
The God of the Labyrinth (1970) is a novel in the mode of Jorge Luis Borges that explores two of Wilson’s major interests – philosophy and sex – in the form of a thrilling literary mystery. This edition, the first in more than 30 years, includes a new introduction by Gary Lachman and the original afterword by the author, in which he discusses the role of sex in literature and defends his work against charges of pornography.
reviews
He writes a clear, light prose, and he makes his interests, however bizarre, seem important.’ - Punch
‘One of the more earnest and interesting writers of his generation.’ - The Guardian
‘He has the kind of story-telling power which could charm the birds off the trees.’ - The Journal (Newcastle upon Tyne)
‘One of the more earnest and interesting writers of his generation.’ - The Guardian
‘He has the kind of story-telling power which could charm the birds off the trees.’ - The Journal (Newcastle upon Tyne)
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BOOK DETAILS
ISBN: 1939140293 ISBN-13: 978-1939140296 $17.99 US, 304 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.