The Quartet Boxed Set: Limited Edition

by A.S. Byatt

Four novels: The Virgin in the Garden; Still Life; Babel Tower; A Whistling Woman.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction

2096 pages, Paperback

First published September 4, 2003

About the author

A.S. Byatt (Antonia Susan Byatt) is internationally known for her novels and short stories. Her novels include the Booker Prize winner Possession, The Biographer’s Tale and the quartet, The Virgin in the Garden, Still Life, Babel Tower and A Whistling Woman, and her highly acclaimed collections of short stories include Sugar and Other Stories, The Matisse Stories, The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye, Elementals and her most recent book Little Black Book of Stories. A distinguished critic as well as a writer of fiction, A S Byatt was appointed CBE in 1990 and DBE in 1999.

BYATT, Dame Antonia (Susan), (Dame Antonia Duffy), DBE 1999 (CBE 1990); FRSL 1983; Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France), 2003 , writer; born 24 Aug. 1936;

Daughter of His Honour John Frederick Drabble, QC and late Kathleen Marie Bloor

Byatt has famously been engaged in a long-running feud with her novelist sister, Margaret Drabble, over the alleged appropriation of a family tea-set in one of her novels. The pair seldom see each other and each does not read the books of the other.

Married
1st, 1959, Ian Charles Rayner Byatt (Sir I. C. R. Byatt) marriage dissolved. 1969; one daughter (one son deceased)
2nd, 1969, Peter John Duffy; two daughters.

Education
Sheffield High School; The Mount School, York; Newnham College, Cambridge (BA Hons; Hon. Fellow 1999); Bryn Mawr College, Philadelphia, USA; Somerville College, Oxford.

Academic Honours:
Hon. Fellow, London Inst., 2000; Fellow UCL, 2004
Hon. DLitt: Bradford, 1987; DUniv York, 1991; Durham, 1991; Nottingham, 1992; Liverpool, 1993; Portsmouth, 1994; London, 1995; Sheffield, 2000; Kent 2004; Hon. LittD Cambridge, 1999

Prizes
The PEN/Macmillan Silver Pen Of Fiction prize, 1986 for STILL LIFE
The Booker Prize, 1990, for POSSESSION
Irish Times/Aer Lingus International Fiction Prize, 1990 for POSSESSION
The Eurasian section of Best Book in Commonwealth Prize, 1991 for POSSESSION
Premio Malaparte, Capri, 1995;
Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature, California, 1998 for THE DJINN IN THE NIGHTINGALE''S EYE
Shakespeare Prize, Toepfer Foundation, Hamburg, 2002;

Publications:
The Shadow of the Sun, 1964;
Degrees of Freedom, 1965 (reprinted as Degrees of Freedom: the early novels of Iris Murdoch, 1994);
The Game, 1967;
Wordsworth and Coleridge in their Time, 1970 (reprinted as Unruly Times: Wordsworth and Coleridge in their Time, 1989);
Iris Murdoch 1976
The Virgin in the Garden, 1978;
GEORGE ELIOT Selected Essays, Poems and Other Writings , 1979 (editor);
Still Life, 1985
Sugar and Other Stories, 1987;
George Eliot: selected essays, 1989 (editor)
Possession: a romance, 1990
Robert Browning''s Dramatic Monologues, 1990 (editor);
Passions of the Mind, (essays), 1991;
Angels and Insects (novellas),1992
The Matisse Stories (short stories),1993;
The Djinn in the Nightingale''s Eye: five fairy stories, 1994
Imagining Characters, 1995 (joint editor);
New Writing 4, 1995 (joint editor);
Babel Tower, 1996;
New Writing 6, 1997 (joint editor);
The Oxford Book of English Short Stories, 1998 (editor);
Elementals: Stories of fire and ice (short stories), 1998;
The Biographer''s Tale, 2000;
On Histories and Stories (essays), 2000;
Portraits in Fiction, 2001;
The Bird Hand Book, 2001 (Photographs by Victor Schrager Text By AS Byatt);
A Whistling Woman, 2002
Little

Reviews

[Vansa · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a complete coincidence, I was reading the Frederica quartet at the same time as The Rainbow, which made this an excellent reading experience. I’m a huge fan of Byatt (give her the Nobel already!) This quartet might actually displace Possession as my favourite in her incredible oeuvre. This follows the life of Frederica Potter, from the moment of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation ( described wonderfully-the novelty of watching a live televised event, with the family marvelling at the TV more than the event!), to her studies and her career. I think very few writers capture the complexities of being a woman, and being a good feminist, as well as Byatt does ( women of a particular demographic, of course, it would be impossible for one writer to speak of all women). We also follow a fascinating cast of characters- the sympathetically written Stephanie, not able to break the shackles of the 50s yet, Daniel who’s able to help a lot of people except for himself, Marcus, their brother, Frederica and Stephanie’s abrasive, feminist-as long as it’s his way, yet interesting father, Bill, and all the younger women trying to navigate the rapidly changing societal mores of the 60s in their own ways-Jacquelyn and Ruth.. This quartet was intended to be Byatt’s tribute to Lawrence’s ‘The Rainbow’, and I’m really glad I was reading ‘The Rainbow’ simultaneously-it’s an excellently done homage, and a very well-done update, taking into account the time period as well. It speaks volumes about the timelessness of the writing in ‘The Rainbow’, given that this book in the 60s, in its own way, explores similar themes-desire, the still-restrictive options for women, the different ways women try to cope with a rapidly changing world. My favourite book of the quartet was the 4th one, that deals with the 60s, and Byatt reckons with all the tumult of the period as it would have affected her-student protests and sit-ins, the surprising increase in people turning to religion-alternative and traditional, the complications of romanticising communes, more programmes on the TV with the BBC trying to experiment as well, the increased role of women in the workplace. I found some of the deus ex machinas ( dei ex machina?) too convenient-one would wish for such perfect solutions when one is fleeing an abusive marriage as the ones the book offers, and having given us such a fascinating, self-sufficient character in Frederica, I didn’t like the ending at all. That can be attributed, however, to how memorable the characters are, that I feel deeply invested in their future

[RH Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this series was such a thrill for me because I loved the characters and blissfully unaware that it was a series, was repeatedly delighted to find more books with them. It meant a great deal to me to read about this complex brilliant family when I was living in an apartment stuck at a dead-end job many years ago and I'd like to return to it and compare my reaction.

[Michelle Dodd (Creaney) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened. Abridged. BBC Sounds.

[JoJo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly interesting, well surprising for me as for some reason I had convinced myself that I didn't like the author, butthis storyline was quite gripping.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the first three parts of the quartet as an abridged BBC radio series. I read the last Babel which was probably the most contentious part of Frederica’s story.

[Chloe Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I guess not the series is overshadowed by the much more famous Possession, since there is not a Kindle edition, implying that it is not in high demand. (I only heard of the series when recommended by a member of staff from biblio.life, ignorant person I am.)

After reading the series, I am even more frustrated than I initially was that there has not been a Kindle edition ("yet", I hopefully add), initially because I was travelling and it was easier to pack a Kindle instead of four books, gradually because I love the series so much I would want to carry it wherever I go.

Just like Possession, Byatt impresses her readers with her vast knowledge. Due to the length of the quartet (2000+ pages in comparison to 500 pages), she is able to show even further how much she knows, and with that knowledge spin an elaborate tale. She questions institutions, she revisits history, she presents us with deep philosophical questions. In the process, we also grow with Frederica, and I have learnt to sympathise with her, despite her rather unapproachable character.

These four are among some of the best books I have ever read in my life.