No writer has led as bizarre and eventful a life as the once celebrated Soho dandy Julian Maclaren Ross. In the course of 52 hectic years he endured homelessness, alcoholism, drug addiction and near insanity. The world of Maclaren-Ross's writing tends to be the dingy, down-at-heel world of smoked veiled bars, blacked-out streets and rented lodgings, and first-hand experience lends unmistakable literary logo. He is a truly important writer who can...