Dandy in the Underworld

Part memoir- part manifesto, Sebastian Horsley is the 'Dandy in The Underworld'. BritArt Dandy and wild boy Sebastian Horsley, revealing the story of his own childhood, takes the reader on a journey fron Hull to hell and back. The son of two wealthy, raging alcoholics -- his mother is reported to to have crashed three jags on her way to the off-license only to be stopped by the police when she set off again on a lawn mower. Horsley's life encompasses drug addiction, prostitution, diving with sharks, having himself crucified in the Philippines as research for a new series of paintings. The Dandy hides in full view and as Horsley excavates the unexpected heart of his story he slowly reveals in vivid prose the tale of how a Dandy is created -- telling the story behind his heroes, seeing Mark Bolan at 10, playing support for the Clash while still at school, Jonny Rotten, Baudelaire -- as well as his descent into the criminal underworld. Starkly written and shockingly honest 'Dandy in the Underworld' is unlike any previous memoir you will have read before.