In Love with Hell, William Palmer

Publisher's Synopsis'Wise, witty and empathetic . . . outstanding'JIM CRACE'A fascinating treatment of the age-old problem of writers and drink which displays the same subtle qualities as William Palmer's own undervalued novels'D. J. TAYLOR'A vastly absorbing and entertaining study of this ever-interesting subject'ANDREW DAVIES, screenwriter and novelist'In Love with Hell is a fascinating and beautifully written account of the lives of eleven British and American authors whose addiction to alcohol may have been a necessary adjunct to their writing but ruined their lives.

Palmer's succinct biographies contain fine descriptions of the writers, their work and the times they lived in; and there are convincing insights into what led so many authors to take to drink.'PIERS PAUL READWhy do some writers destroy themselves by drinking alcohol? Before our health-conscious age it would be true to say that many writers drank what we now regard as excessive amounts. Graham Greene, for instance, d