Diary of a Drug Fiend, published in 1922, was occult writer and mystic Aleister Crowley

Aleister Crowley

Aleister Crowley , born Edward Alexander Crowley, and also known as both Frater Perdurabo and The Great Beast, was an influential English occultist, astrologer, mystic and ceremonial magician, responsible for founding the religious philosophy of Thelema. He was also successful in various other...

's first published novel, and is also reportedly the earliest known reference to the Abbey of Thelema

Abbey of Thelema

The Abbey of Thelema refers to a small house which was used as a temple and spiritual centre founded by Aleister Crowley and Leah Hirsig in Cefalù, Sicily in 1920....

 in Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

.

Plot introduction

The story is widely thought to be based upon Crowley's own drug experiences, despite being written as a fiction. This seems almost conclusively confirmed by Crowley's statement in the novel's preface: "This is a true story. It has been rewritten only so far as was necessary to conceal personalities." Crowley's own recreational drug use

Recreational drug use

Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...

 and also his personal struggle with drug addiction, particularly heroin, is well documented.

Crowley made a study of drugs and their effects upon the body and mind, experimenting widely himself. Many of his conclusions are present within this novel. The story follows Peter Pendragon and Louise Laleham, a couple passionately in love, as they fall head-first into a drug binge across Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. Diary of a Drug Fiend encapsulates much of Crowley's core philosophy concerning Thelema

Thelema

Thelema is a religious philosophy that was established, defined and developed by the early 20th century British writer and ceremonial magician, Aleister Crowley. He believed himself to be the prophet of a new age, the Æon of Horus, based upon a religious experience that he had in Egypt in 1904...

 and his conception of True Will

True Will

True Will is a term found within the mystical system of Thelema, a religion founded in 1904 with Aleister Crowley's writing of The Book of the Law. It is defined at times as a person's grand destiny in life, and at other times as a moment to moment path of action that operates in perfect harmony...

.

Plot summary

The main protagonists find themselves desperate after their drug supply diminishes. The particulars of their desperate addiction and cravings are documented in realistic detail. The pair, however, are saved from destruction by an adept Magician named King Lamus. This mysterious and charismatic figure frees Pendragon and Lou from their addictions through the use of Magickal techniques, aimed at mastering True Will and releasing the individual from sloth, self-destructive impulses and craving.

Paradiso

• A Knight Out
• Over the Top!
• Phaeton
• Au Pays de Cocaine
• A Heroin Heroine
• The Glitter on the Snow
• The Wings of the Oof-Bird
• Vedere Napoli e poi-Pro Patria-Mori
• The Gatto Fritto

Inferno

• Short Commons
• Indian Summer
• The Grinding of the Brakes
• Below the Brutes
• Towards Madness
• Cold Turkey
• The Final Plunge

Purgatorio

• King Lamus Intervenes
• First Aid
• The Voice of Virtue
• Out of Harms Way
• At Telephylus
• The True Will
• Lover under Will

Popular culture

Musician Marilyn Manson

Marilyn Manson

Marilyn Manson may refer to:* Marilyn Manson , an American rock musician* Marilyn Manson , the American rock band led by the singer of the same name...

 included a song entitled "Diary of a Dope Fiend" on his 1995 album Smells Like Children

Smells Like Children

Smells Like Children is a EP by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It was released on October 24, 1995 in the US through Nothing and Interscope Records. It was produced by the band's frontman and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails...

, which may have been, among other aspects of Manson's career, influenced by Crowley's writings.

The American band The Lemonheads

The Lemonheads

The Lemonheads are an American alternative rock band first formed in 1986 by Evan Dando, Ben Deily and Jesse Peretz. Dando has remained the band's only constant member....

 recorded a song called "My Drug Buddy", based on this book, on their 1992 album It's a Shame About Ray

It's a Shame about Ray

It's a Shame about Ray is the fifth album by The Lemonheads. It was released on June 2, 1992 . Tom Morgan of Australian band Smudge helped author the album, while Juliana Hatfield played bass and sang backing vocals on some songs....

.

Editions

• 1922, First edition published in the U.K., hardback
• 1971, USA, Red Wheel/Weiser Books (ISBN 0-87728-035-5), July 1971, hardback
• 1971, USA, Red Wheel/Weiser Books (ISBN 0-87728-146-7), July 1971, paperback
• 1989, USA, Buccaneer Books (ISBN 0-89966-593-4), June 1989, hardback

External links

• Google Books listing
• http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v3=1&ti=1,1&SEQ=20060406170415&CNT=25%20records%20per%20page&CMD=isbn%200877281467&PID=22955&SID=1Library of Congress
  Library of Congress
  The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
  
  online catalog]