The articles with which David Lodge entertained and delighted readers of the Independent and The Washington Post Book World for fifty weeks between 1991 and 1992 have now been revised, expanded, and collected together in book form. The art of fiction is considered under a wide range of headings, such as the Intrusive Author, Suspense, the Epistolary Novel, Time-shift, the Sense of Place, and Symbolism. Each topic is illustrated by a short passage or two taken from classic and modern fiction, ranging from Laurence Sterne to J. D. Salinger, from Jane Austen to Fay Weldon, from Charles Dickens to Martin Amis. David Lodge takes these passages apart and puts them back together again with the expertise of a novelist, critic, and teacher. Technical terms are lucidly explained, and their applications examined, in the literary-critical equivalent of slow-motion replays of some of the best writing in the English language. To throw further light on a given topic the author sometimes refers directly, and revealingly, to his own experience of writing fiction. This book is essential reading for students of literature, aspiring writers, and anyone who enjoys literary fiction and would like to understand better how it works.