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.