In this Readers' Guide, Sarah Gamble, herself a leading interpreter of
Carter's work, examines the critical reception of her writing, including
the much-debated non-fiction text, The Sadeian Woman. Drawing on
interviews, articles, books and Carter's own assessments of her role as
writer, it focuses on the controversy surrounding Carter's portrayals of
sadistic eroticism; her adaptation of the Gothic, science-fiction and
fairy-tale genres; her subversion of gender identity; and the extent to
which she was influenced by postmodern theory.