The French Lieutenant's Woman

The French Lieutenant's Woman is a 1969 novel by John Fowles. The plot concerns the love affair between a Victorian gentleman and a woman who has been jilted by a French officer, scandalizing the "polite society" of Lyme Regis. The book was inspired by the 1823 novel Ourika by Claire de Duras, which Fowles translated to English in 1977 (and revised in 1994).

Related Topics:
1969 - John Fowles - Victorian - French - Lyme Regis - 1823 - Ourika - Claire de Duras - 1977 - 1994

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Fowles makes his plot intertwine on itself, laying it out linearly at first, only to have it curl back on itself later with a "that was what might have happened, or maybe this is what really happened." Along the way, he discourses on Victorian customs, the theories of Charles Darwin, and the poetry of Matthew Arnold.

Related Topics:
Charles Darwin - Matthew Arnold

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