Colin Wilson, A Criminal History of Mankind

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 Glasgow), Graham MacPhee (University of Manchester), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1984

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Historical representation

Resources

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This book, of epic proportions, was first published in 1984 by Granada Publishing in the UK and G. P. Putnam’s Sons in the US. Originally 720 pages in length, it was revised and updated by Wilson in 2005 (London: Mercury Books) with a new Introduction, a 53-page Appendix—dealing with developments in crime since 1982—and a 6-page Postscript. In Japan the book was published in two volumes (Tokyo: Seido-Sha, 1990). Chapter Two of Part One, “A Report on the Violent Man”, was considered important enough to be included in the self-edited

The Essential Colin Wilson

(London: Harrap, 1985).

A Criminal History is Wilson’s “…attempt to tell the story of the human race in terms of that counterpoint between crime and creativity, and to use the insights it brings to try and discern the

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2395 words

Citation: Stanley, Colin. "A Criminal History of Mankind". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 June 2017 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=23973, accessed 19 April 2024.]

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