Francis King

The Man on the Rock (Valancourt 20th Century Classics) Francis King

'A skilful, confident tale of modern Greece ... brilliantly successful ... There is indeed no fault to find with this book.' - David Williams, Guardian

'Mr. King is masterly ... he is exact, moving and funny ... a very enjoyable book.' - Angus Wilson, The Observer

'Constructed with unobtrusive mastery ... has the quality of readability which can only be achieved by the highest type of professional skill.' - Francis Wyndham, The Spectator

'Serious, skilful, intelligent.' - Times Literary Supplement

Spiro Polymerides is a con artist, petty thief, and parasite who survives only by means of his youthful beauty and natural cunning. Restlessly, he drifts from one victim to another: Irvine Stroh, an American relief worker and repressed homosexual; Helen Bristow, a wealthy, middle-aged widow; and Kiki, the young daughter of a Greek shipping magnate. As he exploits, betrays, and ultimately destroys each of the people who love him, Spiro will come to find that the final victim is himself . . .

The Man on the Rock (1957) was the seventh novel by the prolific Francis King (1923-2011), who was hailed by Beryl Bainbridge as 'one of our great writers, of the calibre of Graham Greene and Nabokov'. One of King's most popular and best-reviewed novels, it returns to print in this edition, which features a new introduction by Gregory Woods.