JD Salinger - obituary

JD Salinger, who has died aged 91, was the American author who was catapulted to fame in 1951 with the publication of a short novel, The Catcher in the Rye, which has become the treasured handbook of alienation for generations of angst-ridden teenagers.

With its themes of rebellion, young sexuality and lost innocence, it tells the story of teenage Holden Caulfield, who is both protagonist and narrator. Caulfield, apparently the victim of a mental breakdown, reflects on his expulsion from the privileged surroundings of his Pennsylvania boarding school and his subsequent experiences over three days in New York.