The Lowlife (Faber Editions)
'Terrific. Propulsive, funny and touching.' - Sebastian Faulks
Author: Alexander Baron and Iain Sinclair Series: Faber Editions
One man gambles on the dogs and his own life in this rediscovered Jewish post-war classic of London's seedy underbelly, introduced by Iain Sinclair.
One man gambles on not only the racing dogs but his life in this charismatic rediscovered Jewish post-war classic of London's seedy underbelly, introduced by Iain Sinclair.
28th July 2025
Paperback
PRODUCT INFORMATION
Summary
One man gambles on the dogs and his own life in this rediscovered Jewish post-war classic of London's seedy underbelly, introduced by Iain Sinclair.
One man gambles on not only the racing dogs but his life in this charismatic rediscovered Jewish post-war classic of London's seedy underbelly, introduced by Iain Sinclair.
Description
The day they moved in was a memorable one for me. Not because of them, for I couldn't know what they were to bring into my life, but because of a dog.
Harryboy Boas is a gambling man. An independent Jewish bachelor, he lives in a Hackney boarding house: reading Zola, betting on the dogs at the track, womanising, philosophising, and repressing his tortured wartime past. Until, that is, a new family moves in. As his life dramatically unravels - financially, emotionally, and existentially - Harryboy descends into a murky criminal underworld where debts, violence, gangsters and revenge are the inevitable payback for those who can't pay up ...
'Extraordinary.' William Boyd
Critic Reviews
'Extraordinary.', William Boyd
'The wonder of The Lowlife is that it does justice to a place of so many contradictions ... One of the best fictions, the truest accounts of [Hackney]', Iain Sinclair
About the Author
Alexander Baron (1917 - 1999) grew up in in Hackney, East London. The son of Jewish parents, he was drawn into the anti-fascist struggle, confronting Mosley's blackshirts on the streets of Whitechapel. He became assistant editor of Tribune before enlisting in the army in 1940 and fighting in Italy, Sicily and across France from the Normandy D-Day beaches. His experiences during the Second World War gave him the material for his first novel, From the City, From the Plough (1948), the first in his celebrated wartime trilogy. He wrote several novels set in London's East End as well as Hollywood screenplays and BBC adaptations of classic novels. Carl Foreman's great war film The Victors (1963) was adapted from Baron's The Human Kind (1953). He died in 1999.
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28th July 2025
