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A fascinating, one-of-a-kind journey through the obsessive world of collecting (and stamps) by maverick historian and cult writer Robert Irwin. "[A] delightful mishmash of quotations, digressions, obscure facts, arcane anecdotes and playful romps." --
Literary Review Why do we collect? Is it to rescue objects from oblivion? Is it a kind of desire--or even a kind of madness?
Robert Irwin--novelist, historian, translator, collector--was a true original; a virtuoso thinker who combined encyclopaedic knowledge with boundless curiosity. In this 'mosaic of fiction, philosophy, sociology, biography and autobiography' he takes us on a wayward journey through the art of collecting, and his own intellectual passions.
Drawing on a treasure-trove of literary references from writers including Susan Sontag, Walter Benjamin, Iris Murdoch and Georges Perec, as well as a host of lesser-known geniuses, flaneurs, obsessives and eccentrics, Irwin explores everything from mysticism to nostalgia, psychology to propaganda, classical antiquity to surrealism, dreams to death. We join Thomas De Quincey on a night mail coach, encounter the man who set out to acquire every stamp ever issued, enter the shadowlands of long-vanished kingdoms and the badlands of fakes and forgeries, all in the company of a uniquely brilliant mind.
This is a one-of-a-kind book of wonders; of labyrinthine digressions, good humour and a 'delight in small things'. It is a satisfying and unforgettable meditation on the stuff of life.
About the author
Robert Irwin (1946-2024) was a novelist, publisher, reviewer, Arabist and historian. He was a fellow of The Royal Society of Literature and the author of ten novels, including
The Arabian Nightmare,
Satan Wants Me and
Tom's Version, as well as many works of non-fiction including
The Arabian Nights: A Companion and
Memoirs of a Dervish.
