The essays in this volume adopt various angles of approach to literature-theoretical, historical, critical-as circumstances and evolving interests have determined. Devoted primarily to French literature, with excursions into other languages, the essays explore a variety of prose genres and pay particular attention to the novel. They are not intended as examples of a particular method, but many of the readings draw internally on contrasting angles of approach, whether in the dialogism of the novel, the disjunctions of time, the confrontation of national cultures, the comparison of separate art forms, or encounters between different literary genres.

Ann Jefferson is emeritus professor of French at Oxford University and has published widely, both in English and in French, on literature from the eighteenth century to the present day.