CROWLEY, Aleister.

'A swiftly-moving, brightly-colored picture of the hectic career of a man and a woman who have taken the fatal plunge into narcotism' (jacket)

The first American edition of Aleister Crowley's classic work on drug use, addiction and methods of recovery, considered by many to be in large part based on the author's own experiences. Crowley's own recreational drug usage, and resultant struggles with addiction, are well known, particularly his dalliances with heroin. In a similar vein (pun intended) to other prolific pioneers of narcotic-fuelled expansion of the consciousness such as Huxley and Kesey, Crowley made a study of drugs and their effects upon the body & mind, experimenting widely, and wildly, upon himself.

This was the first published novel by Aleister Crowley, preceded by the Collins UK edition of 1922 (terrifyingly scarce in the original dust-jacket). The American edition is very different in design, the disturbing red blood splatters on black a suitably harrowing harbinger of the book's contents. The work also features the first published reference to the Abbey of Thelema, the temple and spiritual centre founded by Aleister Crowley and Leah Hirsig in Cefalù in 1920. Very rare in the original dust-jacket.