Some years ago we blundered, almost by accident, into the field of classical novae. Our prime interest at the time was in their dust formation properties and infrared development; however, it soon became evident that a full understanding of this relatively restricted aspect of the nova outburst could not be achieved without considering all aspects of the nova phenomenon. Fortunately, from our point of view, the 1970s was a decade during which several significant advances were made in the understanding of classical novae on both observational and theoretical fronts. Accordingly we were able to take advantage of these advances as they appeared in the research literature. However, with the exception of occasional published conference proceedings, it was apparent that no text existed that covered all aspects – both theoretical and observational – of the classical nova phenomenon.

This book arose out of a casual conversation with Dr Jim Truran during which we bemoaned the fact that there seemed to be no modern equivalent of the classic book on the subject, Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin's The Galactic Novae. It seemed to us that such a volume was long overdue. However, it was clear that, with rapid developments in several aspects of the study of novae, no single author could do justice to all the relevant theoretical and multi-wavelength observational material.