How does it compare to audio works by the same author?
Not applicable
Advantages:
An exciting and intriguing story with superb twists and turns
Disadvantages:
Some readers may not enjoy the long sections of poetry
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
AS Byatt's "Possession: A Romance" is a book that I thought I "should" read. Several of my friends had read and enjoyed it and not wanting to be left out, I invested in a copy which went on to spend a couple of years gathering dust on a bookshelf. The thing is, the blurb just didn't appeal to me: I usually read modern fiction from the likes or Will Self or Irvine Welsh or forensic crime fiction. However, I eventually gave in and started reading.
Roland Michell is a young academic carrying out research on nineteenth century poet Randolph Ash on behalf of Professor Blackadder. By chance Roland stumbles across a letter written by Ash and addressed to a young woman. Some investigation reveals that the young woman in question was Christabel Lamotte, some years Ash's junior and also a poet.
The discovery could seriously undermine works about Ash and Lamotte as individuals and so Roland enlists the help of Dr Maud Bailey. Maud is a distant relative of Lamotte and this leads to the discovery of yet further letters from the correspondence between Ash and Lamotte.
As Roland and Maud continue to piece together their findings, they embark upon a chase which takes them all over England (and beyond) and brings them closer and closer all the time.
There are elements of comedy in the novel in the form of Mortimer Cropper, an American academic who is obsessed with acquiring curios and memorabilia relating to Randolph Ash whatever the cost so that he can add them to his personal collection.
There is also his nemesis in the shape of Leonora Stern, a brash, American feminist lecturer who has written extensively on Christabel Lamotte as a lesbian writer. Roland and Maud's findings could seriously discredit Stern's work.
The narrative is interwoven with the letters between Ash and Lamotte and these are an integral partof the development of the story. Theys erve to either throw up new questions for Roland and Maud to work on or answer ones already brought up.
However, many of the chapters begin with excerpts of poetry written by Lamotte and Ash (AS Byatt of course). After a while I stopped reading these poems and kept going straight to the prose narrative. I enjoy poetry but not of this kind, particularly the poetry of Christabel Lamotte which I found similar to that of Christina Rosetti, with it's subject matter coming from legends and fairy tales.
That Byatt is a highly talented writer is beyond doubt. I love the way that this romantic novel unravels a credible and intriguing mystery which culminates in a "heart in your mouth" finale. Many writers work entirely within one style, but here the author blends a mixture of styles and genres effortlessly and seamlessly to join this patchwork of eras and threads of different plots.
The book reminded me a little of the film version of John Fowles's "The French Lieutenant's Woman" in which Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons play actors who are taking the lead roles in a film of "The French Lieutenant's Woman". In "Possession" Byatt uses the plot of Roland and Maud as a vehicle for the telling of the Victorian love story.
I think that the story of Ash and Lamotte could stand alone, but if it did it woould not appeal much to me. I think that using the modern day couple to unearth the story of the nineteenth century romance, brings accessibility to the older story.
At a shade over 500 pages, this is a serious reader's novel but the narrative is easy to get laong with as are the characters who are engaging and interesting. Despite not enjoying the poetry, I have to concede that I enjoyed this novel immensely.
(My copy was bought for a penny under 7 pounds, in paperback a couple of years ago.)
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Possession: A Romance
"Literary critics make natural detectives", says Maud Bailey, heroine of a mystery where
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the clues lurk in university libraries, old letters and dusty journals. Together with Roland Michell, a fellow academic and accidental sleuth, Maud discovers a l...
the clues lurk in university libraries, old letters and dusty journals. Together with Roland Michell, a fellow academic and accidental sleuth, Maud discovers a lov...
