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The French Lieutenant's Woman

By John Fowles
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3.88 goodreads logo

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Check link for latest rating. ( 55,092 ratings, 2,316 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles is set in 19th century England and follows Charles Smithson, an English gentleman, as he becomes entangled with the enigmatic Sarah Woodruff, a woman shunned by her community. This complex novel blends romance, Victorian social critique, and a metafictional narrative style, challenging traditional storytelling with its multiple possible endings.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$2100
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you enjoy richly layered historical novels that weave intricate love stories with a philosophical edge. Set in Victorian England, it offers a compelling blend of romance, mystery, and existential exploration that challenges traditional storytelling with its inventive narrative style. If you appreciate novels that delve deep into character psychology and explore themes of freedom and societal constraints, this might be a captivating read for you.

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Charles Smithson, a respectable engaged man, meets Sarah Woodruff as she stands on the Cobb at Lyme Regis, staring out to sea. Charles falls in love, but Sarah is a digraced woman, and their romance will defy all the stifling conventions of the Victorian age.

'A remarkable performance-As gripping as The Collector and The Magus' Observer

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Of all John Fowles' novels, The French Lieutenant's Woman received the most universal acclaim and today holds a very special place in the canon of post-war English literature.

From the god-like stance of the nineteenth-century novelist that he both assumes and gently mocks, to the last detail of dress, idiom and manners, his book is an immaculate recreation of Victorian England.

Not only is it the epic love story of two people of insight and imagination seeking escape from the cant and tyranny of their age, The French Lieutenant's Woman is also a brilliantly sustained allegory of the decline of the twentieth-century passion for freedom.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

John Fowles's The French Lieutenant's Woman is celebrated for its passionate and compelling storytelling, as noted by the Financial Times, and praised for being highly engaging by the Irish Times. The New Statesman finds it a lucid and profoundly satisfying work that invites rereading, while Sunday Times highlights Fowles's great imaginative power. The Daily Mail comments on its timeless quality, noting the reader’s enduring empathy for the character Charles.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780099478331

Publisher: Vintage Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 04 November 2004

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Vintage Classics

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 30.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 359g

Pages: 512

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About the Author

John Fowles was born in England in 1926 and educated at Bedford School and Oxford University. John Fowles won international recognition with his first published title, The Collector (1963). He was immediately acclaimed as an outstandingly innovative writer of exceptional imaginative power and this reputation was confirmed with the appearance of his subsequent works. John Fowles died in 2005.

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