The Paradox of Freedom

As the first book-length study of Nicholas Mosley, The Paradox of Freedom combines a discussion of the author's incredible biography with an investigation of his writing, nearly all of which is published by Dalkey Archive Press. The son of Oswald Mosley (the leader of Britain's fascistic Blackshirts), a British Lord, a Christian convert, a war veteran, a voracious reader, and an important thinker, Nicholas Mosley has, this book argues, employed all of these experiences and ideas in novels and memoirs that seek to describe the paradoxical nature of freedom: how can man be free when limiting structures are necessary? Can it be achieved, and how? The answer lies in the books themselves, in the ways telling and re-telling stories allows one to escape the seemingly logical bounderies of life and discover new meanings and possibilities. This is a much-needed companion to the work of one of Britain's most important post-War writers.