Dandy in the Underworld [Paperback]

Up until his untimely death some weeks before this review was written, Horsley's was a curiously unenviable life of seething excess, consumed by relentless decadence and velvet adorned decay. And yet he still somehow managed to defy the odds in writing this book of exceptional clarity & wit, before his offbeat ways finally stole the very beat from his heart. In other words, despite living the extraordinarily unstructured life of a 'die hard' waster in a bespoke bowler hat, he nonetheless wrote this truly engaging, most disciplined book - which rarely fails to be wickedly funny. Methinks "Dandy in The Underworld" is one day destined to be a cult classic, or at least it should be so for future generations of unashamedly well educated dropouts. Here's why...

Horsley was a one of a kind: a most privileged oddball who lived in a grand Georgian house in the seediest part of london, whose door bore the stern instruction for all passers by that "There are no prosti...'s at this address" and yet beyond that door's polished brass plate lived one of the greatest & most dedicated philanderers who ever lived. And by his standards that would be a very great compliment indeed, as you'll soon find on reading this most underrated autobiography.

Here you'll find what it is like to live the life of an uncommonly brazen addict who, unlike most, enjoyed "a certain spiritual charm that comes from having money in the bank". In many ways, Horsley was a 21st century hybrid of Bolan, Borroughs & Wilde. For his decadent ways, he made no excuses: "it is better to be hated for what you are, than loved for what you are not." Such sentiment may well make many people wince with contempt, as he was by no means a moral person in the conventional sense of the word, and certainly did not write this book as a means of becoming born again; published as it was, some two years before his all too predictably fateful yet untimely demise. Nonetheless, on reading this book, I have every belief that his was a life of wasted near genius, dedicated most successfully towards defying convention, in the mould of a 'dandy'.

Many will not like this book, as it will often elicit disgust when it doesn't entertain. That it has some negative reviews doesn't surprise me at all. It is indeed disgusting in some ways, and that in itself should prove unacceptable to those of tamer intellect and disposition. There is also a certain smugness about Horsley's unashamed candour which does (& will) irritate many. But for me, I am left in no doubt that Horsley would have been a great (albeit unconventional) success in life - if only he were a more prodigious writer before he left this planet. I'm not saying he would have been a captain of industry, being such an unwitting slave to his wayward passions, but he certainly could have written many a great book, if only he had better focused his efforts in that way. For he certainly had storytelling talent, and that's not just because the story of his life couldn't have been anything but interesting. Horsley's writing is also generously seasoned with priceless quips, e.g., "altruism is the art of doing unselfish things for selfish reasons" or, "I wanted to be working class. The trouble was apart from serving as a diligent caretaker of my own beauty, I didn't work."

If the extraordinary life of a witty, depraved, early 21st century dandy is of any interest to you, then buy this book you must.

"Life for me was a great big canvas, and I was going to throw all the paint on it [that] I could."

Sebastian Horsley is (or rather was, since he has sadly died recently) a very intelligent author. Every sentence has been thought out carefully. I enjoyed this book more the second time, when I could savour the words rather than looking for the story. Some of the things he did were unpleasant, but only to himself. He is not some stupid punk rocker, but a sensitive man who chose to live an eccentric lifestyle. His attitudes to life, the universe and everything are refreshingly honest and free from the need to appease other people's points of view. We can't all live our lives in such an uninhibited manner, but reading about someone who did is interesting, if not a role model.

I don't understand why some people find this book offensive. Sebastian was always very polite and well spoken and I would suggest people check out his YouTube videos. Whilst I would not choose to follow his examples, I do think that many of his conclusions about life are totally correct. He was sanguine about his own future death which unfortunately has come to pass due to a heroin overdose. I would have liked him around for longer to see how he viewed the world as he got older (he was my age). But at least we have his book as a record of a remarkable person who made his mark.

Five stars or one star - not too many books get such extreme reactions? The truth is this book deserves both ratings and extreme reactions are certainly what Horsely seeks.

In this his autobiography, Sebatsian simultanesouly views himself as the solipsistic centre of all that matters and yet confesses to abject poverty in terms of originality and ideas. Half of the book is about the main-line hedonism that can be enjoyed if one has absolutely no morals and total self-conviction, the other half is about the abyss of self doubt and a decline into addled lunacy.

Suffice to say, Horsley provides some of literature's more extreme scenarios - I will not quote the startling lines that follow a first "romantic encounter" with a Scottish hardman gangster of some renowned. Despite having read some pretty outre stuff, I still winced. And few autobiographies feature detailed descriptions of having oneself crucified.

Horsley has a nice turn of phrase a lot of the time and if occasionally it is all a bit over-wraught, then move on and some new gem of offensiveness appears. Dancing on pretty thin ice on pretty much all matters of possible contention (relationships, sex, race, age, disability, family) there is something to offend everyone here. Surely an achievment of sorts?

I suspect that what those criticsing this book really mean is that they don't like the sounds of the book's main protagonist (one Mr Sebastian Horseley). Given the ends to which he goes to ensure he portrays himself as an utter degenrate this makes his work quite a success n'est pas?

"Dandy" is well worth reading - reading is not always meant to be about nor nodding emphatically while reaffirming one's existing ideas. I suggest following this up immediately with another autobiography - "Quite Contrary" the autobiography of Mary Whitehouse. Life is full of oppositions - enjoy.