Colin Wilson, novelist, critic, historian and philosopher, was born in Leicester in 1931. His novels and non-fiction books share a common interest in consciousness and the meaning and purpose of existence. His philosophy, which he called “New Existentialism,” is built on an optimistic approach to “Old Existentialism.” His first book, The Outsider, was internationally acclaimed and became an instant bestseller. Wilson’s work has been translated into more than thirty languages. He died in Cornwall in 2013.