Fowles's the French Lieutenant's Woman - (Reader's Guides) by William Stephenson (Paperback)

About the Book

John Fowless 1969 novel The French Lieutenant's Woman has become a modern classic but it is a complex novel and can be daunting to study. This accessible guide offers detailed readings of the text as well as accounts of Fowless influences and the cont

Book Synopsis

John Fowles's 1969 novel The French Lieutenant's Woman has become a modern classic but it is a complex novel and can be daunting to study. This accessible guide offers detailed readings of the text as well as accounts of Fowles's influences and the context of the novel's composition. It also discusses Fowles's manipulation of the story's Victorian setting and source material, and his treatment of key themes such as gender, sexuality and social class. It addresses the reviews and critical reception of the novel, and offers study suggestions and a guide to further reading. A separate section engages with the 1981 film adaptation scripted by Harold Pinter. This introduction to the text is the ideal companion to study, offering guidance on: Literary and historical context Language, style and form Reading The French Lieutenant's Woman Critical reception and publishing history Adaptation and interpretation Further reading

Review Quotes

""College-level collections will find this an excellent starting point for classroom debates and discussions of the novel, offering analysis of key themes, social issues, and critical points of interest." -James A. Cox (James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief Midwest Book Review), Internet Bookwatch, March 2008" --James A. Cox

"Students will be particularly grateful for this clear and detailed account of an impressive range of the novel's contexts, its stylistic aspects, and critical approaches to it, giving help with reading the novel itself as well as conveniently packaging the bewildering variety of readers' responses it has elicited. It packs a lot into its 128 pages." --Oxford Journals

"'In-depth and well-written account of John Fowles [giving] a new perspective on his novels' Amazon.co.uk review of Stephenson's book on Fowles in the Writers and their Work series." --Blurb from reviewer

About the Author

William Stephenson is Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Chester, where he teaches modernist and postmodernist literature. His publications include "John Fowles" (Northcote, 2003), several book chapters and articles in journals including "Critique," "Journal of Cultural Research" and "a/b: Auto/Biography Studies."