This study of Alberto Moravia's writing over a 60-year period concentrates on the major novels, The Time of Indifference, The Women of Rome, Two Women, The Conformist, The Empty Canvas, and The Lie. Moravia's short fiction and non-fiction are also given consideration, especially his Roman tales and essays of Man as an End. What emerges overall is the portrait of an intellectual and craftsman faithful to his interior life and inspiration while active as a public figure in Italian society.