The Recurrent Green Universe of John Fowles

Book excerpt: Ecocriticism is the emerging academic field which explores nature writing and ecological themes in all literature. Thomas M. Wilson's book is the first to consider the work of one of the most critically acclaimed and generally popular post-war English writers from an ecocritical perspective. Fowles is best known as a novelist and author of such works as The Magus, The French Lieutenant's Woman and Daniel Martin. Going beyond the fiction, this book also examines the many profound reflections on the natural world found in his essays, poems and his recently published Journals. John Fowles' writings have cast light on the ways we perceive the natural world, from curious scientific observer to Wordsworthian lover of natural places, as well as many other important and, at this time, crucial themes. This volume will be of interest to critics and readers of contemporary fiction, but most of all, to anyone curious about their place in the recurrent green universe that is our earth.