Diary of a Misplaced Philosopher

by Joseph North, Jeanie Morrison-Low (Illustrator)

A humorous account of a year in the life of Joseph North, the proud possessor of a doctorate in philosophy - and nothing to do with it. Joseph writes about his fellow lodgers in a shabby boarding house, his family, friends and lovers, his triumphs and humiliations.

176 pages, Hardcover

First published August 10, 1990

About the author

Joseph North is the pen-name of Oliver Black (1957-2019), a British corporate lawyer, philosopher, and author of The Diary of a Misplaced Philosopher.

He also wrote The Commune and Shrunk and Other Stories under his own name.

Reviews

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm in this one!

[Mesembryanthemum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joseph North is the pen-name of Oliver Black (1955-2019), a British corporate lawyer, philosopher, and author. He also wrote Shrunk and Other Stories under his own name.

"... Black had a doctorate in philosophy from University College London, but jobs for philosophers were few and far apart. It was a problem he encapsulated in Diary of a Misplaced Philosopher (1989), a humorous, first-person account written using the pseudonym Joseph North that describes his fellow lodgers in a shabby boarding house and his family, friends and lovers, and his triumphs and humiliations."
-- From the Times obituary for Oliver North (paywall); also available as a PDF from Anthony Gottlieb ("Abrams" in the book) .