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Cover of The Diary of a Drug Fiend by Aleister Crowley

The Diary of a Drug Fiend

by Aleister Crowley

Two lovers turn cocaine and heroin into a private romance before pleasure gives way to dependence, desperation, and spiritual crisis.

Published
1922
Shelf rating
4.0

About Aleister Crowley

Illustrated portrait of Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley

5 books shelved

The story, briefly

Spoiler-free

Peter and Lou begin with champagne, cocaine, heroin, hotels, and the conviction that intoxication has opened a more intense way of living. Their glamorous private world gradually contracts into addiction and loss of control.

What's inside

Two lovers build a private world around drugs, sex, travel, and occult ideas, then discover how quickly ecstasy can become dependence.

Why we recommend it

  1. Ecstasy becoming dependence

    Crowley combines drugs, romance, European decadence, occult thought, and the narrowing logic of addiction.

What this book explores

Book editions

Paperback edition cover
Paperback
Weiser Books
2010
ISBN-13
9781578634941

Reader reviews

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Cover of Cocaine by Pitigrilli

Cocaine

Pitigrilli

The closest companion for cocaine, sophistication, and early-1920s European decadence.

Read our take
Cover of Candy by Luke Davies

Candy

Luke Davies

Another pair of lovers who make heroin part of their relationship before it destroys their private world.

Read our take
Cover of Moonchild by Aleister Crowley

Moonchild

Aleister Crowley

Crowley’s other major novel moves more deeply into ceremonial magic and occult rivalry.

Read our take

Recommended alongside Dope, Junky, Morphine, Opium: Diary of a Cure, Requiem for a Dream, The Confessions of Aleister Crowley, The Magician, The Stratagem and Other Stories and The Testament of Magdalen Blair.

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References

References

The sources below include the primary text, editions, scholarship, archival materials, and other records that informed this page. They document The Diary of a Drug Fiend, its publication, and its place in literary history.

  1. 1The Diary of a Drug Fiend

    Novel
    Aleister Crowley, 1922
    Used for

    The primary text represented by this page, used for descriptions of the work’s contents and for any quoted passages shown here.

  2. 2The Diary of a Drug Fiend

    Official record
    Weiser Books
    Used for

    Official record used to verify names, dates, institutional details, or other factual information on this page.

    View source
  3. 3Crowley, Aleister (1875–1947) — authority record

    Official record
    Bibliothèque nationale de France
    Used for

    Official record used to verify names, dates, institutional details, or other factual information on this page.

    View source
  1. 4The Yorke Collection

    Archive
    The Warburg Institute, University of London
    Used for

    Archival evidence used to document the historical record connected to The Diary of a Drug Fiend.

    View source
  2. 5Aleister Crowley in Paris: Sex, Art, and Magick in the City of Light

    Biography
    Tobias Churton (Inner Traditions)
    Used for

    Biographical evidence used to verify chronology, relationships, and historical context connected to The Diary of a Drug Fiend.

    View source
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Why these sources are here

The primary text is the baseline reference for every book page. Additional references document publication history, interpretation, and historical context where that evidence is available.

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