Lawrence Durrell

Monsieur: Or the Prince of Darkness

Lawrence Durrell

• 1974 JT Black-Fiction winner
• Score: 10.24

Lawrence Durrell’s classic novel Monsieur is set in a dilapidated chateau near Avignon and focuses on a group of characters who have decided to remove themselves from the world. Egypt, France and Venice provide a background for the action, which offers an original interpretation of the so-called sins of the Templars as Durrell depicts his characters caught up in the sinister and mysterious doings of a gnostic suicide club.

Constance or Solitary Practices

Lawrence Durrell

• 1982 Booker shortlist
• Score: 6.32