The Alexandria Quartet: Justine, Balthazar, Mountolive, and Clea (1968)

The Alexandria Quartet is a sequence of four novels published between 1957 and 1960 by British writer Lawrence Durrell. Set in Egypt before and during World War II, each of the first three books narrates the same sequence of events from a new perspective. The fourth book is a partial retrospective on the events of the first three books, set in wartime six years later.  This four-part story of passion and betrayal in the Mediterranean was voted one of the Modern Library’s 100 Best Novels of the twentieth century.

 The Alexandria Quartet is a striking and sensuous masterpiece set in Alexandria, Egypt, in the years before, during, and after World War II. It breathes vivid life into each of its unforgettable characters and the dusty Mediterranean city in which they live. 

The narrative is centered around a man named L.G. Darley, who observes his friendships and romantic partnerships in Alexandria, observations complemented and challenged at points by other characters, a circle of friends and lovers, including sensitive Darley, passionate Justine, philosophical Balthazar, and elegant Clea. 

The central question of The Alexandria Quartet is the possibility of the endurance of love given the tenuous and contingent relationship between a given subject and object over time. Written in Durrell’s trademark evocative prose, these four novels explore the central theme of modern love, building into a remarkable whole that the New York Times hailed as “one of the most important works of our time.”