British writer Angus Wilson achieved fame in the late 1940s for two collections of short fiction. It was, however, the publication of Hemlock and After in 1953 that transformed him from an admired up-and-coming author to a scandalous novelist. A witty and scathing look at English literary life, Wilson's novel details the life of Bernard Sands, a noted homosexual English novelist who discovers that neither his fame nor his closet is very secure. Wilson was one of the first to write honestly and openly about gay life in post-war England, and Hemlock and After remains a classic of psychological insight and social satire.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Upon its Publication in 1952, Hemlock and After Established Wilson's reputation as the most daring novelist of his generation, the enfant terrible of postwar fiction. Wilson's first novel following two highly praised collections of short stories shocked austere English society with the seamier side of life. As one of the first works of its kind to deal so frankly and sympathetically with homosexuality, Wilson's American publisher at first refused to accept it.

Hemlock and After is the story of Bernard Sands -- novelist, liberal, and humanist -- who sets out to establish a writers' colony at Vardon Hall, which is to be the climax of his distinguished career. But Sands has influential enemies, and life is further complicated by his wife Ella's mysterious illness and his own affair with his young lover, Eric. Dazzling with his originality and insight, Wilson ensures that Sands's liberal ideals, both public and private, are put to the test.

Garnering early admiration from the likes of W. H. Auden, E. M. Forster, and Sir Stephen Spender, Hemlock and After was once a pioneering work that has now become a classic in the annals of English literature.

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