Two years after The Collector had brought him international recognition and a year before he published The Magus, John Fowles set out his ideas on life and art in The Aristos. In the world he posited of human striving and flux the supreme good was the Aristos, of a person or thing, the best or most excellent of its kind. Ten years in the writing and twice substantially revised, The Aristos points expressively towards the themes and ideas in Fowles fiction – and poses provocative questions about the nature of twentieth century existence.