Australian author Peter Carey began his illustrious career as a short story writer, his first published collection being The Fat Man in History. I do not have a copy of this book, but I do have in Picador editions his collection Exotic Pleasures, and his first novel Bliss.
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Angela Carter’s novel Heroes and Villains, was one of the first Picador books issued in 1972 and also represents for me the discovery of her work. I subsequently went on to collect a lot of her later books in hardcover first editions. The Picador cover shows The Temptation of St Anthony a portion of the Isenheim Altarpiece by Grunewald
Bruce Chatwin, noted novelist and travel writer gained popularity from the publication his first book, In Patagonia, a travel book that seized the imagination of the reading public with its then unusual approach to travel writing. I did have a Picador edition of this book, but it has gone missing in action. I do however still have his wonderful novel On The Black Hill which remains one of my all time favourite novels, and two shorter novels Utz and The Viceroy of Ouida.
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An odd writer, Lindsay Clarke ,wrote a couple of unusual metaphysical romance novels, The Chymical Wedding and Alice’s Masque. I have read them, and though not blown away by the story, remember them being an enjoyable reading experience.
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Next – Dali to Gurdjieff
