Award History
| Award | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|
| James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction | 2009 | Winner |
About This Book
A. S. Byatt's novel follows the family of children's author Olive Wellwood and a wide cast of Edwardian intellectuals, artists, and socialists from the 1890s through the carnage of the First World War. Rich with references to fairy tale, pottery, theatre, and utopian politics, it interrogates the gap between the golden world of Edwardian childhood story and the violence of history. It won the James Tait Black Prize for Fiction in 2009.
About the Author
Dame Antonia Susan Byatt (1936–2023) was one of the most learned and encyclopaedic novelists in British literature, known for fiction that combines narrative pleasure with deep engagement with art history, science, and Victorian culture. Born in Sheffield, she studied at Cambridge and Bryn Mawr and taught English at University College London. Her novels include The Shadow of the Sun (1964), The Virgin in the Garden (1978), Still Life (1985), Possession (1990), Angels and Insects (1992), The Biographer's Tale (2000), and The Children's Book (2009). Read more →
