Over the years I've lost and found this book countless times, and since it is often released in 4 volumes, I have picked up various ones in strange places and read them in different languages. This time it will be different, top to bottom, in one 2.5 inch thick piece. I've finally got my hands on my very own copy of Lawrence Durrell's Alexandria Quartet, one of my favourite novels.

For any travel lover this is a journey that begins on the pages of this book but must end with a visit to the land which is masterfully described in haunting, shimmering and sensual detail. I've yet to see the wonders of Egypt, but I feel as though I already hold a small piece of it in my hands.

"The great sweep of Durrell's quartet is almost impossible to describe. His characters and the evocation of wartime Alexandria are so perfect that you can taste the perfume on Justine's neck, hear the call from the mosques and smell the blood of camels butchered in the streets. Here are poets and prostitutes, diplomats and gun runners. There are scenes of lust and love and violence and despair." —W. Weinstein (Amazon)

Below are some beautiful editions of the first book "Justine".