Sexus, Plexus, Nexus: The Rosy Crucifixion: Henry Miller

Henry Miller – Sexus, Plexus, Nexus: The Rosy Crucifixion
Three-Volume Semi-Autobiographical Novel | First Published 1949–1960

The Rosy Crucifixion trilogy—comprising Sexus (1949), Plexus (1953), and Nexus (1960)—is Henry Miller’s most ambitious and revealing literary work: a feverish, sprawling, semi-autobiographical exploration of love, ego, artistic struggle, and erotic freedom in post-war America. Blending autobiography with surrealism, philosophy, and explicit sexuality, the trilogy serves as both a prequel and an internal mirror to Miller’s infamous Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn.

Through his alter ego, “Henry V. Miller,” the author charts his tempestuous relationship with his second wife, June (disguised as Mara), his rejection of bourgeois life, and his chaotic pursuit of artistic transcendence. The writing is raw, unfiltered, and gloriously excessive—laced with philosophical rants, comic absurdity, and poetic rapture.

Key Features:

• A complete, unexpurgated portrait of Miller’s inner and outer life during his formative years as a writer

• Themes of sexual liberation, bohemian chaos, ego death, and creative obsession

• Written in Miller’s signature stream-of-consciousness, jazz-inflected style

• Banned in the U.S. upon publication for its sexual content; now considered a landmark of 20th-century American literature

Edition Notes (if listing specific edition):

• Paperback or Hardcover (specify format)

• Often collected in a slipcased three-volume set or published as individual books

• Originally published by Grove Press in the U.S.

• Out of print in some editions; collectible in first printings or Grove Press originals

The Rosy Crucifixion isn’t just literature—it’s a manifesto for living outside the lines. For readers drawn to existential inquiry, literary risk, and the messy, ecstatic search for personal truth, this trilogy remains as vital and electric as when it first shocked the world.