Possession
The Booker-prize winning modern classic story of obsession
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4.3 • 4 Ratings
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
In this stunning literary mystery, two scholars uncover a hidden love affair that refuses to stay buried.
Roland Michell is a young academic drifting through obscurity when he discovers a letter in the archive of the Victorian poet Randolph Henry Ash. The letter hints at a secret relationship with another poet, Christabel LaMotte. What begins as literary curiosity becomes a covert investigation into a concealed history.
Joined by Maud Bailey, a specialist in LaMotte’s work, Roland traces a correspondence that has remained hidden for over a century. As their research leads them through libraries, country houses and private collections, scholarship gives way to rivalry, secrecy and the thrill of discovery.
This is a literary mystery that brings the Victorian era face-to-face with the present day, inspiring obsession and passion alike. The past does not lie quietly in its boxes. It waits to be rediscovered, and to alter the lives of those who seek it.
‘Exhilarating genius’ Guardian
‘Possession is eloquent about the intense pleasures of reading. And, with sumptuous artistry, it provides a feast of them’ Sunday Times
**WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE**
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Inspired by her own obsession with poet Robert Browning, British writer A.S. Byatt dreamt up this stunningly clever novel about two modern-day scholars swept away by the discovery of a secret relationship between two revered Victorians. As browbeaten post-doctoral researcher Roland Mitchell and glamorous professor Maud Bailey work to unravel the mysterious bond between the literary figures they’ve devoted their lives to studying—poets Randolph Henry Ash and Christabel LaMotte—they discover a renewed sense of purpose … and unexpected passion. Byatt’s 1990 Booker Prize winner is a timeless pleasure, bursting with witty observations about academic ambition and modern love, beauteous writing and astonishing imagination.
