Language of Fiction was the first book of criticism by the renowned novelist and critic David Lodge. His uniquely informed perspective – he was already the author of three successful novels at the time of its first publication in 1966 – and lucid exposition meant that the work proved a landmark of literary criticism, not least because it succeeded in communicating a radically new vision of English literature to a readership that reached well beyond the bounds of the academy. Now reissued with a new foreword, this major work from the pen of one of England’s finest living writers is essential reading for all those who care about the creation and appreciation of literature.