Essays on the Fiction of A. S. Byatt: Imagining the Real [Hardcover]

Alexa Alfer (Editor), Michael J. Noble (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0313315183 | ISBN-13: 978-0313315183 | Publication Date: September 30, 2001

Over recent years, the increasing scope of A. S. Byatt's work as a writer has fostered a corresponding breadth of academic interest both in the traditional field of literary criticism and beyond the discipline among scholars of the natural and social sciences. Most of this research has been limited to conference papers, interviews, and articles scattered across a wide variety of journals and has examined only the most basic critical issues related to Byatt's writing. This volume provides the first substantive inquiry into her fiction and spans virtually the entire body of her work. By advancing multiple and mutually informative theoretical frameworks for a critical appreciation of Byatt's work as a writer, this book surveys and furthers the growing critical interest in her fiction. Contending that Byatt's work renders the boundaries between criticism and fiction highly permeable, the responses to her work gathered in this volume purposely blur the demarcation lines between the different schools of thought currently fighting for critical supremacy. In doing so, they explore the narrative and intellectual terrain mapped out by one of Britain's most imaginative novelists and contribute to current debates on the contemporary novel in England.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Highly recommended for general readers and upper-division undergraduates through faculty.”–CHOICE

“...particularly reliable and useful...The essays in this collection push our knowledge of Byatt's ideas and skills a little further in many areas...many Byatt fans will take up the challenge of these scholars and use their work to push our awareness and appreciation of Byatts work even further in the future.”–European Journal of English Studies

“Essays on the Fiction of A. S. Byatt sets a very high standard for all subsequent research on this important author....[T]he volume is essential reading for anyone concerned with the broader contexts of Byatt's work....All of the essays in the volume provide important tools for rethinking Byatt's place within late 20th-, early 21st-century literature and culture.”–David Herman Professor North Carolina State University

“The editors have compiled-and themselves contributed to-a very fine collection of critical essays on the fictions of A. S. Byatt....The standard of writing and thinking displayed in the essays is uniformly high. Readers of Byatt's fiction will come away from this collection with a deeper understanding of her interests, methods, and achievements.”–Dr. Frederick M. Holmes Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Canada

“This engaging and comprehensive collection of essays on the fiction of A. S. Byatt illuminates her entire body of work, from the early novels to the most recent....Alexa Alfer's essay on Byatt's particular brand of literary realism typifies the strength and sophistication of the collection.”–Dr. Margaret Soltan Associate Professor of English George Washington University

“I enjoyed reading the manuscript and found the collection to be both absorbing and varied.”–Jennifer Green-Lewis Associate Professor of English George Washington University

About the Author

ALEXA ALFER is affiliated with Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London.

MICHAEL J. NOBLE is a Fellow of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He has taught widely on British fiction and drama.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Greenwood Press (September 30, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0313315183
• ISBN-13: 978-0313315183
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,147,964 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sheer Genius, August 17, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Essays on the Fiction of A. S. Byatt: Imagining the Real (Hardcover)

For the serious scholar of Byatt's work, this is a gem of a find. Noble's editorial achievements continue to mount. At once makes Byatt accessible and erudite. A groundbreaking work, breathtaking in breadth and inspiring in depth. Kudos.