Lawrence Durrell published the first volume of the series that would eventually become known as

in 1968. It had been eight years since he had completed the highly acclaimed novels that make up

and expectations were running high. Yet the work’s title –

– puzzled (if not titillated, given its anagrammatical possibilities), and its tone – acerbic, satirical, crudely bawdy – disappointed those who expected more of the psychological depth or sometimes lush romanticism of the earlier works. As Durrell himself observed, his new novel did not even “pretend to pretend.”

The second and final volume, Nunquam, appeared two years later, but its plot, which mixed elements of science fiction and the gothic, was even more unrealistic than

1061 words

Citation: Koger, Grove. "The Revolt of Aphrodite". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 October 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=13854, accessed 21 November 2024.]

• View recommended reading for this article