Mountolive

Lose yourself in the thrilling political intrigue and tangled love affairs of wartime Egypt: Durrell''s epic modern classic, introduced by William Boyd (bestselling author of Any Human Heart and Restless).

''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