Available to pre-order now

The first novel from Pete Townshend

Coming 5th November 2019

The Age of Anxiety is a great rock novel, but that is one of the less important things about it. The narrator is a brilliant creation – cultured, witty and unreliable. The novel captures the craziness of the music business and displays Pete Townshend’s sly sense of humour and sharp ear for dialogue. First conceived as an opera, The Age of Anxiety deals with mythic and operatic themes including a maze, divine madness and long-lost children. Hallucinations and soundscapes haunt this novel, which on one level is an extended meditation on manic genius and the dark art of creativity.

Pete Townshend: ‘Ten years ago I decided to create a magnum opus that would combine opera, art installation and novel. Suddenly here I am with a completed novel ready to publish. I am an avid reader and have really enjoyed writing it. I am also happy to say the majority of the music is composed, ready to be polished up for release and performance. It’s tremendously exciting.’

Photo credit: Terry McGough

Pete Townshend is the lead guitarist and principal songwriter of The Who – one of the most influential rock bands of the 20th century, selling over 100 million records worldwide – and the composer of the rock operas Tommy and Quadrophenia.