- Title Pages
- Series editor's preface
- Acknowledgements
- Copyright acknowledgements
- A. S. Byatt: biographical outline
- Abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Fathers, sisters and the anxiety of influence: <i>The Shadow of the Sun</i> and <i>The Game</i>
- 3 Writing the contemporary: <i>The Virgin in the Garden</i> and <i>Still Life</i>
- 4 Two cultures: <i>Babel Tower</i> and <i>A Whistling Woman</i>
- 5 Tradition and transformation: <i>Possession</i> and fairytales
- 6 The dark side of the tale: <i>The Children's Book</i>, <i>The Biographer's Tale</i> and <i>Angels and Insects</i>
- 7 Critical storytelling: peopling the paper house
- Bibliography
- I. Novels and collected short fiction by A. S. Byatt (First UK editions only)
- II. Uncollected short fiction by A. S. Byatt (First date and place of publication only)
- III. Collected non-fiction by A. S. Byatt (First UK edition only)
- IV. Selected uncollected non-fiction by A. S. Byatt (excludes journalism, reviews, art criticism and broadcasts except pieces directly quoted in this volume)
- V. Books edited by A. S. Byatt
- VI. Selected interviews with A. S. Byatt
- VII. Selected reviews of A. S. Byatt's fiction
- VIII. Selected criticism of A. S. Byatt's fiction
- IX. Other works cited
- Index
Introduction
Introduction
- Chapter:
- (p.1) 1 Introduction
- Source:
- A.S. Byatt
- Author(s):
Alexa Alfer
Amy J. Edwards de Campos
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
This introductory chapter discusses A. S. Byatt, a writer with a personal and intellectual dislike of literary criticism that places a heavy emphasis on a writer's life. It first provides some background information on Byatt's early career as a writer and her debut novel, Shadow of a Sun. It studies her commitment to the mutually informative discourses of fiction and literary criticism and her popular reimaginings of the Victorian past. This chapter also studies some of Byatt's novels, which are discussed in detail in the following chapters.
Keywords: A. S. Byatt, literary criticism, writer's life, Shadow of a Sun, informative discourse, fiction, reimaginings, Victorian past
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- Title Pages
- Series editor's preface
- Acknowledgements
- Copyright acknowledgements
- A. S. Byatt: biographical outline
- Abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Fathers, sisters and the anxiety of influence: <i>The Shadow of the Sun</i> and <i>The Game</i>
- 3 Writing the contemporary: <i>The Virgin in the Garden</i> and <i>Still Life</i>
- 4 Two cultures: <i>Babel Tower</i> and <i>A Whistling Woman</i>
- 5 Tradition and transformation: <i>Possession</i> and fairytales
- 6 The dark side of the tale: <i>The Children's Book</i>, <i>The Biographer's Tale</i> and <i>Angels and Insects</i>
- 7 Critical storytelling: peopling the paper house
- Bibliography
- I. Novels and collected short fiction by A. S. Byatt (First UK editions only)
- II. Uncollected short fiction by A. S. Byatt (First date and place of publication only)
- III. Collected non-fiction by A. S. Byatt (First UK edition only)
- IV. Selected uncollected non-fiction by A. S. Byatt (excludes journalism, reviews, art criticism and broadcasts except pieces directly quoted in this volume)
- V. Books edited by A. S. Byatt
- VI. Selected interviews with A. S. Byatt
- VII. Selected reviews of A. S. Byatt's fiction
- VIII. Selected criticism of A. S. Byatt's fiction
- IX. Other works cited
- Index
