Under the Volcano

fiction by Malcolm Lowry

Blurb

Under the Volcano is a novel by English writer Malcolm Lowry published in 1947. The novel tells the story of Geoffrey Firmin, an alcoholic British consul in the small Mexican town of Quauhnahuac, on the Day of the Dead, 2 November 1938. The book takes its name from the two volcanoes that overshadow Quauhnahuac and the characters, Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl. Under the Volcano, Lowry's second and last complete novel, is the basis for his reputation as one of the most important novelists of the twentieth century.
The novel was adapted to radio on Studio One in 1947 but had gone out of print by the time Lowry died. Its popularity restored, it was made into a film in 1984. In 1998, the Modern Library ranked Under the Volcano as number 11 on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.