A Cage of Shadows

One of 100 numbered hardback copies in new condition.

Born and raised during the Depression, Archie Hill is something of an enigma. Virtually no information about him exists in public records or online. What little we do know can be gleaned from his disarmingly honest, autobiographical novels. A Cage of Shadows was first published in 1973 to enthusiastic reviews and announced the arrival of a major new writer. It tells of Mr Hill’s brutal Black Country upbringing, frequent beatings, an alcoholic father, run-ins with the law. On leaving home, he encountered further degradation in prisons, asylums and on London’s skid row. But a chance meeting whilst incarcerated during the 1950s changed his life completely. Mr Hill became friendly with Klaus ‘Doc’ Fuchs, atomic spy for Russia, who instilled in him a passion for literature and encourage him to write. Libel action in 1975 meant copies of A Cage of Shadows were pulped, with an edited version being published two years later. This new edition reinstates the original text of a genuine, lost classic comparable to John Healy’s The Grass Arena in both its content and the troubled history of its publication.