This is Crowley’s partial autobiography covering the early years of his life up until the mid to late 1920s. It was originally published in two large volumes by Mandrake Press in 1929 under the title “The Spirit of Solitude”. Crowley had originally intended the work to be published in six volumes, but only two of these had been published before the Great Depression and various internal disputes led to the demise of the publishers. The project languished uncompleted throughout Crowley's lifetime, and it was not until 1969 that the Confessions were issued in a single volume edition, edited by John Symonds and Kenneth Grant. This is the 1979 corrected edition. It is subtitled "An Autohagiography” which refers to the autobiography of a Saint, a title which Crowley would also have associated with the Plymouth Brethren who used it to refer to themselves. Crowley was brought up by his parents as a member of the Plymouth Brethren. While Crowley considered himself in many ways to be as holy as any Christian saint, his subtitle is also reflective of his usual mischievous humour. Hagiographies are usually written about the lives of saints by others. For someone to write an "Autohagiography" is otherwise unheard of, as Crowley well knew.