(1961), Colin Wilson’s second novel, is an engaging, often very funny existential picaresque tale which evokes bohemian life in 1950s London while also questioning the kind of freedom it represents. By Wilson’s own account,

began as “a collaboration with an old Soho friend”, an actor called Charles Belchier (the original of Charles Compton Street in the first US edition of the novel, cited in this entry; in the first UK edition, he is called James Compton Street, possibly for fear of a libel action if Belchier’s real first name were used). After the success of Wilson’s

(1956), Belchier had asked for his help in finding a publisher for an unfinished autobiographical work called

. Wilson found this a fascinating fragment…

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Citation: Tredell, Nicolas. "Adrift In Soho". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 May 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=23915, accessed 27 November 2024.]