The French Lieutenant's Woman is a 1969 postmodern historical fiction novel by John Fowles. The plot explores the fraught relationship of gentleman and amateur naturalist Charles Smithson and Sarah Woodruff, the former governess and independent woman with whom he falls in love. The novel builds on Fowles's authority in Victorian literature, both following and critiquing many of the conventions of period novels.
The book was the author's third, after The Collector (1963), and The Magus (1965). American Libraries magazine counted the novel among the "Notable Books of 1969". Subsequent to its initial popularity, publishers produced numerous editions and translated the novel into many languages; soon after the initial publication, the novel was also treated extensively by scholars. The novel remains popular, figuring in both public and academic conversations. In 2005 Time chose the book as one of the 100 best English-language novels since the magazine began publication in 1923.
