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.