Comments on: Hampstead Heath and the Rise and Fall of the author Colin Wilson

By: David Archer

David Archer — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 20:12:23 +0000

An excellent description of Wilson’s early life but those ” hundred books” are criminal investigations, psychic paraphenalia, rippers shrouds and closer to journalism than literature.
The question is not what is the value of Wilson but are there any other artists feted by society who fall out of favour quickly? Not because they produce lesser work but because the work was always pretty small in the first place and they were mistakenly ascribed the word because of their posturing for genius?. In the mass market they fall quickly, Wilson is only one of a long litany. In the graphic arts, where the works become valuable commodities it takes longer to disestablish a genius. Alma Tadema anyone? There is ALWAYS a market for bad art, Jeff Koons value will not fall as Wilson’s did.

By: MonsieurFellini

MonsieurFellini — Sun, 23 May 2010 10:57:48 +0000

My copy of the Outsider has lived a long life on that shelf in my library, where books with similar intellectual character sit or stand with only the first few pages thumbed.

Coincidently they were mostly bought at Waterstone’s in Hampstead High Street on a Sunday afternoon

By: sph

sph — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:06:15 +0000

really great piece.
i’ve read some of wilson’s stuff about crowley and lovecraft but never looked into the man himself.

By: nickelinthemachine

nickelinthemachine — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 22:20:04 +0000

Why should I check out ‘The Mind Parasites”? Are you accusing me of something or just recommending to me a good book?

By: Jill Dearman

Jill Dearman — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 18:16:56 +0000

Check out “The Mind Parasites” by Wilson.

By: Erin

Erin — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:06:55 +0000

Hello,
I was reading your post about Cafe de Paris, specifically Snakehips Johnson. I am working at an archives centre and currently doing a project on the Blitz, using that specific incident. The photos were fantastic, where did you find them? I would really appreciate it if you would e-mail me, you would be a lot of help.
Thank you,
Erin

By: ruth

ruth — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 22:40:37 +0000

hi,
please could you email me
I am doing a book about Holloway Road and would be interested in speaking to you,
regards Ruth

By: Karen

Karen — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 12:35:14 +0000

Loved this!

By: J.D. King

J.D. King — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 10:58:38 +0000

Great stuff!

By: Stewart Home

Stewart Home — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 18:29:38 +0000

Great post. I’ve never enjoyed Colin Wilson although I read with him once in the 1990s, he said hello to me and that was pretty much our entire conversation.One small correction, as I understand it he fled to and lives in Cornwall which is the English county immediately to the west of Devon.

Moving on, if you don’t know it, you may find Bernard Kops’ first novel Awake For Mourning (1958) interesting because there is some great satire of the Wilson circle in it (his Notting Hill right-wing writer gang). I’ve a page about the Kops book, so if you click on the link on my name here you should find it, and if you read down you’ll see I go into the Colin Wilson & Co. satire a bit down the page….