The Collector
John Fowles, 1963
Little, Brown & Co.
320 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780316290234
Summary
Hailed as the first modern psychological thriller, The Collector is disturbing, engrossing, unforgettable—the story of a lonely young man, who collects butterflies, and the girl he kidnaps and holds prisoner in his cellar.
This brilliant tale of obsessive love is John Fowles' debut novel and immediately established him as a major contemporary novelist. Critics on both sides of the Atlantic were dazzled by its simplicity and power, calling it a "remarkable tour de force" (The New Yorker) and "a haunting and memorable book" (Times Literary Supplement). (Adapted from the publisher.)
The novel was adapted to film in 1965 and starred Terence Stamp and Samanatha Eggar.