"I've got this dark little lump of cold grief or something over my heart. It could, of course, be wind."

And that's Alfie really. Never one to take himself, or anything else for that matter, too seriously. He'll never say no to a woman and he'll even let them stay the night, as long as they cook breakfast of course and as long as they never, ever, ask when he'll be back. But these things are never that simple, even if Alfie likes to pretend they are. There's meek little Annie, who's almost got him "poncified"; Ruby, a bit old but in fabulous condition and then the less said about Lily the better. But Alfie doesn't do complicated. He loves, he leaves and when he occasionally wrestles with his conscience, he always wins. Well, almost always. . .

With sales of over a million copies since its first publication in 1966, Alfie is a controversial modern classic. The inspiration for the cult film starring Michael Caine and the smash-hit remake with Jude Law as the eponymous anti-hero, Alfie feels as fresh and relevant today as when it was first published.