Books

First edition of Fowles' classic third novel. Octavo, original brown cloth, pictorial endpapers. Signed by John Fowles on the title page. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Endpaper drawing by Tom Adams. Possibly the most beloved of Fowles's internationally bestselling works, The French Lieutenant's Woman is a feat of seductive storytelling that effectively invents anew the Victorian novel. "Filled with enchanting mysteries and magically erotic possibilities" (New York Times). It was the basis for the 1981 British romantic drama film directed by Karel Reisz, produced by Leon Clore, and adapted by playwright Harold Pinter. The music score is by Carl Davis and the cinematography by Freddie Francis. The film stars Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons. Other featured actors include Hilton McRae, Peter Vaughan, Colin Jeavons, Liz Smith, Patience Collier, Richard Griffiths, David Warner, Alun Armstrong, Penelope Wilton, and Leo McKern. It is universally regarded as a modern classic.

The French Lieutenant's Woman is a 1969 postmodern historical fiction novel by John Fowles. It explores the fraught relationship of gentleman and amateur naturalist Charles Smithson and Sarah Woodruff, the former governess and independent woman with whom he falls in love. The novel reflects the Victorian England period and questions the social and scientific issues of the time.