Bruce Chatwin's bestselling novel traces the fortunes of the enigmatic and unconventional hero, Kaspar Utz. Despite the restrictions of Cold War Czechoslovakia, Utz asserts his individuality through his devotion to his precious collection of Meissen porcelain. Although Utz is permitted to leave the country each year, and considers defecting each time, he is not allowed to take his porcelain with him and so he always returns to his Czech home, a prisoner both of the Communist state and of his collection.

Bruce Chatwinwas born in Sheffield in 1940. After attending Marlborough School he began work as a porter at Sotheby's. Eight years later, having become one of Sotheby's youngest directors, he abandoned his job to pursue his passion for world travel. Between 1972 and 1975 he worked for theSunday Times, before announcing his next departure in a telegram: 'Gone to Patagonia for six months.' This trip inspired the first of Chatwin's books,In Patagonia, which won the Hawthornden Prize and the E.M. Forster Award and launched his writing career. Two of his books have been made into feature films:The Viceroy of Ouidah(retitledCobra Verde), directed by Werner Herzog, and Andrew Grieve'sOn the Black Hill. On publicationThe Songlineswent straight to Number 1 in theSunday Timesbestseller list and remained in the top ten for nine months.On the Black Hillwon the Whitbread First Novel Award while his novelUtzwas nominated for the 1988 Booker Prize. He died in January 1989, aged forty-eight.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE Bruce Chatwin's final, bestselling novel