Lawrence Durrell 
Mountolive 
Introduced by William Boyd

Lose yourself in the thrilling political intrigue and tangled love affairs of wartime Egypt in Durrell's epic modern classic'A master at creating and handling tension … I was fascinated from the start.' Wilbur Smith David Mountolive, a young English diplomat, has been obsessed with Egypt ever since a youthful love affair. Returning to Alexandria as British Ambassador just before World War Two, he unravels an intricate political and religious conspiracy – one that connects a web of wildly different characters, including an exiled schoolteacher and glamorous Egyptian couple. Mountolive gradually exposes the sinister underbelly of these tangled relationships, their deceptions and betrayals mirroring the explosive turmoil of the modern Middle East – and the result is Durrell's most cinematic masterpiece.'Astonishing … A work of splendid craft and troubling veracity.' New York Times Book Review'A masterpiece … Don't be fooled by the richness of the prose, the depth of the passions … Wicked and funny.'Guardian'Dazzlingly exuberant in style and vision, reckless in ambition, wonderfully prolific in invention … Superb.' Observer VOLUME THREE OF LAWRENCE DURRELL'S ALEXANDRIA QUARTET