A.S. Byatt

Critical storytelling

Alexa Alfer

• Publisher: Manchester University Press
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN:
  9780719066535
  9780719066528
• eBook ISBN:
  9781847794826
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Literary Biographies
• Index: Literature

This comprehensive study of A. S. Byatt's work spans virtually her entire career and offers insightful readings of all of Byatt's works of fiction up to and including her Man-Booker-shortlisted novel The Children's Book (2009). The authors combine an accessible overview of Byatt's œuvre to date with close critical analysis of all her major works. Uniquely, the book also considers Byatt's critical writings and journalism, situating her beyond the immediate context of her fiction. The authors argue that Byatt is not only important as a storyteller, but also as an eminent critic and public intellectual. Advancing the concept of 'critical storytelling' as a hallmark of Byatt's project as a writer, the authors retrace Byatt's wide-ranging engagement with both literary and critical traditions. This results in positioning Byatt in the wider literary landscape. This book has broad appeal, including fellow researchers, undergraduate and postgraduate students, plus general enthusiasts of Byatt's work.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Series editor’s preface
• Acknowledgements
• Copyright acknowledgements
• A. S. Byatt: biographical outline
• Abbreviations
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Fathers, sisters and the anxiety of influence: The Shadow of the Sun and The Game
• 3 Writing the contemporary: The Virgin in the Garden and Still Life
• 4 Two cultures: Babel Tower and A Whistling Woman
• 5 Tradition and transformation: Possession and fairytales
• 6 The dark side of the tale: The Children’s Book, The Biographer’s Tale and Angels and Insects
• 7 Critical storytelling: peopling the paper house
• Bibliography
• Index