Book excerpt: Lawrence Durrell’s position as one of the twentieth century’s leading novelists is continually being enlarged and revised. This book presents unusual and unorthodox explorations of Alexandria, the city at the heart of Durrell’s writing, his family relationships, his biographer Michael Haag, and his affinity with such diverse writers as Rilke and Virgil. In particular, it offers an insight into Durrell’s emotions and sensibilities in elaborating his Sicilian Carousel and a penetrating and totally unique reading of Durrell’s Alexandria Quartet in the light of the art and landscape of ancient Egypt.