Norman Lewis was the best not-famous writer of his generation, and a better writer than almost all who were. From the 1950s to the 1990s, he wrote books that have survived better than all but a handful of novels. For twenty years Lewis spied for the British government, raced Bugattis before the war, lived in Ibiza after it, and was a crack shot, flamboyant host, and businessman with Mafia connections. Julian Evans’ portrait is a fascinating personal account of a suburban fugitive and adventurer; a writer of unsurpassed humour, wisdom and compassion for the ridiculous; the Defoe of our times.

‘Magnificent … meticulous, spirited and colourful … a triumph’ Jason Webster, New Statesman

‘An excellent literary biography about one of the truly outstanding writers of our time … Sensitive and perceptive’ Patrick Marnham, Daily Mail