Sarah Dillon is Lecturer in Contemporary Fiction at the University of St. Andrews, UK.

'This is a compelling and original book, as multi-layered as its title might lead us to hope. Dillon offers a lucid and lively account of the history and development of the notion of palimpsest, from ancient history through to postcolonialism and queer theory. In a series of deft and insightful readings of De Quincey, Freud, Saussure, Barthes, Riffaterre, Genette, Kristeva and Derrida, as well as literary works by Arthur Conan Doyle, D.H. Lawrence, H.D., Umberto Eco and Ian McEwan, The Palimpsest renews and transforms our understanding of this curious topic.'Professor Nicholas Royle, University of Sussex

• List of IllustrationsAcknowledgements1. Introduction: The Palimpsest2. A Brief History of Palimpsests3. The Palimpsest of the Mind4. On Poetry and Metaphor5. Risky Reading6. Refiguring Intertextuality7. Queering the Palimpsest: H.D.BibliographyIndex

Sarah Dillon is Lecturer in Contemporary Fiction at the University of St. Andrews, UK.

'This is a compelling and original book, as multi-layered as its title might lead us to hope. Dillon offers a lucid and lively account of the history and development of the notion of palimpsest, from ancient history through to postcolonialism and queer theory. In a series of deft and insightful readings of De Quincey, Freud, Saussure, Barthes, Riffaterre, Genette, Kristeva and Derrida, as well as literary works by Arthur Conan Doyle, D.H. Lawrence, H.D., Umberto Eco and Ian McEwan, The Palimpsest renews and transforms our understanding of this curious topic.'Professor Nicholas Royle, University of Sussex

• List of IllustrationsAcknowledgements1. Introduction: The Palimpsest2. A Brief History of Palimpsests3. The Palimpsest of the Mind4. On Poetry and Metaphor5. Risky Reading6. Refiguring Intertextuality7. Queering the Palimpsest: H.D.BibliographyIndex