The Virgin in the Garden

by A. S. Byatt

Overview

From the Booker Prize-winning author of Possession comes a wonderfully erudite novel in which enlightenment and sexuality, Elizabethan drama and contemporary comedy, intersect richly and unpredictably.

"Large, complex, ambitious, humming with energy and ideas ... a remarkable achievement." —Iris Murdoch

In Yorkshire, the Potter family are preparing to celebrate Elizabeth II’s arrival on the throne. Its three youngest members, however, are preoccupied with other matters. Stephanie has grown tired of their overbearing father and resolves to marry the local curate. Anxious teenager Marcus gains a new teacher and suffers increasingly disturbing visions. Then there is Frederica. On the brink of adulthood, a love affair with a young playwright may offer the freedom she desperately desires.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780679738299
Publisher:	Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/15/1992
Series:	Vintage International
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	432
Product dimensions:	5.28(w) x 7.89(h) x 0.92(d)

About the Author

A. S. Byatt was the author of numerous novels, including The Children’s Book, The Biographer’s Tale, and Possession, which was awarded the Booker Prize. She also wrote two novellas, published together as Angels & Insects, five collections of short stories, and several works of nonfiction. A distinguished critic and author, and the recipient of the 2016 Erasmus Prize for her “inspiring contribution to ‘life writing,’” she died in 2023.

Hometown:

London, England; France

Date of Birth:

August 24, 1936

Place of Birth:

Sheffield, England

Education:

B.A., Newnham College, Cambridge, 1957; graduate study at Bryn Mawr College and Somerville College

What People are Saying About This

Iris Murdoch

Large, complex, ambitious, humming with energy and ideas...a remarkable achievement.