by John Fowles
First published 1983
Meek, lonely Frederick Clegg has long admired the beautiful Miranda Grey from afar. When he wins the lottery, he hatches a plan to make her his own - kidnapping her and holding her captive in his cellar. As the power dynamic shifts, a battle of wits and wills ensues, with Miranda fighting for her freedom and Clegg desperate to win her love. In this chilling psychological thriller, Fowles masterfully explores the dark depths of the human psyche.
Genres: suspense, crime, thriller, psychological-thriller
Vibes: dark, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: captive-captor-relationship, unreliable-narrator
Setting: England
Period: 1960s
255 pages · Paperback · Dell Publishing Co., Inc.
Content warnings: kidnapping, violence