Sadeq Hedayat is the most famous and enigmatic Iranian writer of the 20th century. This book is the first comprehensive study of Hedayat's life and works set against literary and political developments in a rapidly changing Iran over the first half of the 20th century. Katouzian discusses Hedayat's life and times and the literary and political circles with which he was associated. But he also emphasises the uniqueness and universality of his ideas that have both influenced and set Hedayat apart from other Iranian writers of the period and have given him a mystique that has been instrumental in his posthumous success with acclaimed works such as The Blind Owl.