García Márquez stands on the shoulders of a great Latin American literary heritage. But he is also that modern rarity, a writer with aspirations to high art who also remains hugely popular. For those who fall under his spell, his novel, One Hundred Years of Solitude, is one of the richest literary dreams ever written. Its "magical realism" has influenced writers the world over.

In García Márquez in 90 Minutes, Paul Strathern offers a concise, expert account of García Márquez's life and ideas and explains their influence on literature and on man's struggle to understand his place in the world.

The 90 Minutes series includes brief but authoritative interpretations of the world's great writers, bringing their lives and ideas to life in entertaining and accessible fashion, and making them comprehensible and interesting to almost everyone.