Published for the first time, this title is Derek Jarman’s only piece of narrative fiction. Written in 1971, it is a surreal, fabular, lyrical work – a literary fairytale acid- trip road movie hybrid – the energies and details of which influenced much of his later work across media. The story serves as a foundational text for Jarman’s work in painting, film and design. It is also haunted by the then emerging ecological crisis in its juxtaposition of the beauty of nature with the reckless consumption of modernity. This edition features facsimile images of the story’s handwritten drafts from Jarman’s archive, a link to an exclusive audio recording of Jarman himself reading the story in full, and is comprehensively informed by a vivid foreword from Philip Hoare, a deeply researched afterword by Jarman scholar Declan Wiffen, and a warm memoir by artist and Jarman’s friend Michael Ginsborg.
Meet Derek Jarman Artist and activist Derek Jarman (1942-1994) is one of the most important and influential figures in twentieth century British culture. Jarman’s prolific artistic practice spanned painting, film, installation, writing, set design and performance. Possibly his most enduring legacy is his garden and former home of Prospect Cottage in Dungeness—a refuge and retreat that fuelled his creativity and has become a site of pilgrimage for visitors worldwide.
