'The five novels written by Randolph Stow, namely A Haunted Land (1956), The Bystander (1957), To the Islands (1958), Tourmaline (1963), and The Merry-go-round in the Sea (1965), are analysed for their common theme. The manner in which Stow has, with a progressively subtle style and characterisation, described in all his novels the capacity of man to love even when he is isolated by his surroundings and experiences loneliness, is discussed.'
