Colin Wilson, The Misfits: a study of sexual outsiders

Colin Stanley (University of Nottingham)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Gina Lyle (University of York), Graham MacPhee (University of Manchester), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Domains

Sociology

Dates

First circulation or publication 1988

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Treatise

Resources

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The Misfits

, arguably Colin Wilson’s most controversial book, was published in February 1988 by Grafton Books in the UK and Carroll & Graf, a year later, in the USA, with Spanish and Japanese translations following. Even the choice of cover courted controversy: the UK edition sported a reproduction of the painting “Maid to Order III” by Allen Jones (1937- ), which was apparently banned in Scotland and not used for the US edition.

It was Wilson’s third non-fiction book specifically about sexuality: he had published, in 1963, as volume 5 of his “Outsider Cycle”, Origins of the Sexual Impulse (London: Arthur Barker) and, in 1966, Sex and the Intelligent Teenager. The latter was written as a response to a book by Barbara Cartland (1901-2000): Sex and the Teenager (London: Frederick

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2738 words

Citation: Stanley, Colin. "The Misfits: a study of sexual outsiders". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 06 July 2014 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=23993, accessed 26 November 2024.]