Lost Objects of Desire

This first book-length critical study of Jeremy Irons concentrates on his key performances and acting style. Through the analysis of some of the major screen roles in Irons' career, such asBrideshead Revisited,The French Lieutenant's Woman,Reversal of Fortune,Swann in Love,Dead Ringers, andLolita, Mark Nicholls identifies a new masculine identity that unites them: 'the prince of perversion', an emblematic figure of the 1980s and 1990s presented as an alternative to the action hero or the common man. Using clear explanations of complex theoretical ideas, this book investigates Jeremy Irons's performances through the notion of perversion, both as sexual inversion and as a form of social rebellion, to uncover an entirely original but recognizable screen type.