Phil Baker examines Wheatley's friendship with a fraudster named Eric Gordon Tombe, and uncovers the full story of his 1922 murder. The author also explores Wheatley's relationships with occult figures such as Rollo Ahmed, Aleister Crowley and the Reverend Montague Summers
This work traces absinthe's cultural origins as a herbal tonic through its morbid heyday in the late 19th century and the Absinthe Murders in 1905. After giving the pharmacology of absinthe, the book deals with the modus operandi of drinking it.
William S. Burroughs (1914-1997) is an iconic figure of the Beat generation. In this revealing study Phil Baker investigates this cult writer's life and work, and his self-portrayal as an explorer of inner space, reporting back from the frontiers of experience.
Beginning with the gripping 1905 Absinthe Murders, this book explores the cultural history of absinthe, tracing its evolution from a simple herbal tonic to a symbol of decadence in the late 19th century. The narrative delves into the drink's allure and the societal implications surrounding its consumption, enriched with illustrations that enhance the historical context.
This revised edition delves into the life of Austin Osman Spare, an influential artist and occultist known for his unique contributions to both fields. Phil Baker's biography offers a comprehensive exploration of Spare's artistic vision and esoteric beliefs, highlighting his impact on modern art and occult practices. The book combines critical analysis with personal anecdotes, providing a deeper understanding of Spare's complex character and the cultural context of his work.
An elegant and comprehensive biography of the controversial enfant terrible of the Edwardian art world, Austin Osman Spare.
An informative, witty and concise account of London's past, and its present.
A work that combines biography and pyschogeography to trace Aleister Crowley's life in London. "I dreamed I was paying a visit to London," Aleister Crowley wrote in Italy, continuing, "It was a vivid, long, coherent, detailed affair of several days, with so much incident that it would make a good-sized volume." Crowley had a love-hate relationship with London, but the city was where he spent much of his adult life, and it was the capital of the culture that created him: Crowley was a post-decadent with deviant Victorian roots in the cultural ferment of the 1890s and the magical revival of the Golden Dawn. Not a walking guide, although many routes could be pieced together from its pages, this is a biography by sites. A fusion of life-writing with psychogeography, steeped in London's social history from Victoria to the Blitz, it draws extensively on unpublished material and offers an exceptionally intimate picture of the Great Beast. We follow Crowley as he searches for prostitutes in Hyde Park and Pimlico, drinks absinthe and eats Chinese food in Soho, and find himself down on his luck in Paddington Green--and never quite losing sight of the illumination that drove him: "the abiding rapture," he wrote in his diary, "which makes a 'bus in the street sound like an angel choir!"