John Fowles had gained great popularity as a contemporary novelist on both sides of the Atlantic. In this comprehensive study of his work, originally published in 1982, Peter Conradi relates his work to his life, his ideas and his place in contemporary English fiction at the time. Conradi sees him as both realist and experimental, and in detailed analyses of The Magus and The French Lieutenant's Woman illuminates Fowles's use of literary genres – the romance (in particular), the detective story, the thriller, the Victorian novel, the tale of courtly love – to exploit and explode the conventions of that particular genre. Seduction, erotic quest, capture and betrayal are among the most important themes in Fowles's work to be considered here.