The Gilded Gutter Life of Francis Bacon: The Authorized Biography

(Paperback)

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The writer Daniel Farson was a friend and confidant of Francis Bacon for more than 40 years. In this biography of the artist he tells the story of bohemian lifestyle, of love and loss, of multiple suicides, of marathon drinking sessions, and of a sex life so extraordinary that Bacon would allow the book to be published only after his death. Despite his great wealth, Bacon never ceased to live his life on the edge - or, as he put it, "as close to my nervous system as I possibly can". Farson's other books include "Soho in the Fifties" and "Sacred Monsters".

Reviews

"The most fascinatingly provocative, intimate study of an artist I have ever read" -- Patrick Skene Catling Evening Standard "It preserves precisely the aspects of Bacon that will be hardest for scholarly researchers to capture... no-one can convey better than Farson the fun of Bacon's company and the louche adventures of the Soho underworld" -- Lynn Barber Independent on Sunday "Positively Runyonesque...well-written, entertaining, and above all, thought-provoking" -- David Mellor Daily Telegraph "Startlingly revealing" Times Literary Supplement

Author Bio

The son of the legendary American foreign correspondent, Negley Farson, Daniel became the youngest ever Parliamentary and Lobby Correspondent in the House of Commons aged 17. While working as a photographer for Picture Post, he drifted into Soho and at the age of 23 met Francis Bacon. He 'stumbled' into television in the early days of ITV becoming a leading interviewer with his own series. Then in 1964 on a sudden impulse, Daniel Farson abandoned television and Soho for the house left him by his parents in North Devon - 'in order to find out if I could write'. Subsequent books include his bestseller Jack the Ripper, The Man Who Wrote Dracula, a biography of his great-uncle Bram Stoker; the historical novel Swansdowne on convicts sent to Tasmania; books on Turkey; and several which combine his photographs with his reminicences: Soho in the Fifties; Sacred Monster; Escapades; Limehouse Days; Gilbert & George in Moscow. Daniel Farson died in 1997.