Introducing... John Fowles

"There are only two races on this planet - the intelligent and the stupid."

John Fowles was born and bred in Essex until he was sent off to the highly regarded Bedford School and then Oxford after completing his military service. He would later become a teacher, which took him to what he called "a ratty little school" on the island of Spetsai in Greece. This part of his life would prove extremely influential, as anyone who has read The Magus will know. Despite his career as a teacher, Fowles wrote all his life but it wasn't until the success of his novel, The Collector, that Fowles gave up teaching for a full-time literary career (now considered somewhat of a luxury by many writers today).

The French Lieutenant's Woman (1969) was probably Fowles' most famous novel. Set on the coast in Lyme Regis, where Fowles himself had a home, the novel centres on a disgraced woman who is surrounded by rumours of a past extra-marital affair with a French soldier. The novel is largely a romance and I did really enjoy it - it's a pleasure to read - but it's not simple, famously providing three alternative endings.

The Magus (1966) This is not just one of my favourite John Fowles novels but one of my favourite ever reads. In it, Nicholas Urfe seeks to escape his fractured life in London by taking a teaching job on a small Greek island (sound familiar). Urfe gets more than he bargains for, though, when he meets a master trickster, whose illusions become increasingly dark and frightening. It's just incredibly good.

The Collector (1963) was the first novel Fowles had published. It's shorter than his others and centres around a butterfly collector who becomes obsessed with a young art student and kidnaps her. Although it's not explicit, there's a definite and intelligent unease to this book but it's definitely worth a read.

All three of these novels have been made into successful films but I would say that these are definitely cases where you should read the book first.

"There comes a time in each life like a point of fulcrum. At that time you must accept yourself. It is not anymore what you will become. It is what you are and always will be."