The Avignon Quintet gathers Lawrence Durrell''s five kaleidoscopic, Booker Prize-nominated novels - orbiting around the South of France in World War II - into one epic modern classic, one of ''the greatest novels of our time'' (Sunday Times). ''Durrell is a magicianHe juggles with glittering words, he conjures up "cloud capped towers, gorgeous palaces and solemn temples," he entrances, intrigues and impresses.'' The Times Avignon: the kingdom of kings and Popes, capital of the historic South of France, heart of legendary ProvenceThe entwined lives of a group of friends - and lovers - are transformed forever by the outbreak of World War II. But their dramatic present only plunges them further into the darkness of an ancient past, as they become entangled in buried plots, gnostic cults, religious rituals, and a mysterious hunt for hidden Knight''s Templar treasure. From Hitler''s Europe to the medieval world, French chateaus to Egyptian deserts, The Avignon Quintet is an epic sympho