This book is the first in-depth monograph on one of the most celebrated German literary theorists of the 20th century. Via an accessible analysis of Iser’s complete English and German writings, this study explains his acclaimed reception theory and connects the famous notions of ‘blanks’ and the ‘implied reader’ to his earlier and later work on English literature and literary anthropology. Iser’s views are also compared to those of related thinkers like Hans Blumenberg and illustrated with examples from contemporary authors like Hilary Mantel.