The Outsider cover art

The Outsider

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

The Outsider

By: Colin Wilson
Narrated by: Mark Peachey
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

The classic study of alienation, creativity and the modern mind

'Excitingly written, with a sense of revelation' GUARDIAN

THE OUTSIDER was an instant literary sensation when it was first published in 1956, thrusting its youthful author into the front rank of contemporary writers and thinkers. Wilson rationalised the psychological dislocation so characteristic of Western creative thinking into a coherent theory of alienation, and defined those affected by it as a type: the outsider. Through the works and lives of various artists, including Kafka, Camus, Hemingway, Hesse, Lawrence, Van Gogh, Shaw, Nietzsche and Dostoevsky, Wilson explored the psyche of the outsider, his effect on society and society's on him.

Nothing that has happened in the decades since has made THE OUTSIDER any less relevant; it remains the seminal work on this most persistent of modern-day preoccupations.

©1956 Colin Wilson (P)2025 W F Howes Ltd Art & Literature Artists, Architects & Photographers Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Social Psychology & Interactions Humanism

Listeners also enjoyed...

 The Ultimate Colin Wilson cover art
Sophie's World cover art
Finnegans Wake cover art
Peak Experiences and the New Human cover art
Man Without a Shadow cover art
The Philosopher's Stone cover art
The Mind Parasites cover art
The Complete Friedrich Nietzsche Philosophy Collection cover art
The Fyodor Dostoyevsky Complete Collection cover art
Vineland cover art
Existential Psychotherapy cover art
The Holographic Universe cover art
The Reveal cover art
The Complete Short Stories cover art
Man's Search for Meaning cover art
Ulysses cover art
All stars
Most relevant
I remember reading this book soon after leaving school. At the time I thought how much more ‘enjoyable’ school might have been had we studied authors like Kafka, Sartre, Dostoyevsky & Camus etc, etc (along with the more obvious Shakespeare & Austin!). Whilst this wasn’t exactly possible (or even sensible) reading about societal ‘outsiders’ did have a huge impact on me & facilitated a lifelong love of reading & literature exploration.
When I saw this as an audiobook I immediately purchased it & it’s just as fascinating, influential & inspirational as I remember it being.
The narrator is excellent (speed, intonation, pace etc) & I highly recommend this audiobook to anyone interested in literature, social isolation &/or philosophy. Indeed, The Outsider is as relevant today as it was when it was first published.
Buy ‘n’ Enjoy!!!

A superb exploration of philosophy & social isolation

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.