The collection features essays on several prominent 20th-century writers, many of whom Lodge knew personally or studied extensively as a scholar:

In his collection of essays (originally published as Lives in Writing in 2014), David Lodge explores the complex relationship between an author’s life and their literary output. Drawing on his unique perspective as both a novelist and a literary critic, Lodge examines how personal experiences, successes, and failures shape the creative process. The Craft of Literary Biography

Lodge investigates various forms of "fact-based writing," including traditional biography, autobiography, and the increasingly popular "biographical novel" or "faction". He argues that the life of an author often serves as a "reservoir" of anecdotes and facts that are then reconfigured into fiction. A recurring theme is the delicate balance writers must maintain between historical truth and imaginative interpretation to provide a "different kind of interpretation of real lives". Case Studies in Authorship