"Penguin Decades" bring you the novels that helped shape modern Britain. When they were published, some were bestsellers, some were considered scandalous, and others were simply misunderstood. All represent their time and helped define their generation, while today each is considered a landmark work of storytelling. Angela Carter's "The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman" was published in 1972, and is a magical, satirical adventure. Desiderio is stricken with love for Albertina, a woman he sees only in his dreams. He must also battle against Doctor Hoffman and his mysterious machines, as they bend time and space to turn Desiderio's city into a nightmare of lust, insanity and crime. But the evil Doctor is also Albertina's father...

Author Biography

Angela Carter was born in 1940 of a Scottish father and Yorkshire mother. She read English at Bristol University, and after escaping an early marriage went to live in Japan for a number of years. She wrote nine novels, which blend fantasy, science fiction and gothic, and is often referred to as a writer of magic realism. She died of lung cancer in 1992.