Malcolm Bradbury

Howard Kirk is a trendy, radical lecturer at Watermouth University. This book captures the complexities of academic life, and the very modern marriage of Howard and Barbara Kirk.

Dr Petworth is on a cultural exchange to the small (and fictional) Eastern European country of Slaka. Pallid and middle-aged, Dr Petworth might appear stuffy, but during his short stay he manages to embroil himself in the thorny thickets of sexual intrigue and love, while still finding time to see the major sites.