Classics · ThoughtfulFour novels set in Alexandria, Egypt, before and during the Second World War, seen from different points of view
The Alexandria Quartet
The same events in wartime Alexandria told again from several points of view
The Alexandria Quartet consists of Justine (1957), Balthazar (1958), Mountolive (1958) and Clea (1960). The novels center on Alexandria, Egypt, before and during the Second World War. The first three books follow the same sequence of events through several points of view, and the fourth, set six years later, shows how things have changed. Faber and Faber published it in the UK and Dutton in the US.
More about this book
Who
The cast of the four novels set in Alexandria.
World
Alexandria, Egypt, before and during the Second World War. Clea is set six years later.
What makes it different
The first three volumes tell the same events from different viewpoints. Durrell's preface to Balthazar describes the work as an exploration of relativity, continuum, subject and object, and modern love.
Feel
Layered and richly written.
Page count and cover shown for: Selected edition
Further reading
- The Alexandria QuartetWikiwand