The winner of the 1990 Booker Prize. Two modern-day academics uncover a secret affair between famous fictional poets in A.S. Byatt’s gloriously exhilarating novel of wit and romance
The Children's Book
Written by A.S. Byatt
- Shortlisted
- The Man Booker Prize 2009
- Published by Chatto & Windus
Buy the book
A.S. Byatt’s vivid and deeply affecting historical fiction is the story of a singular family, played out against the great, rippling tides of the day
In the golden summers of Edwardian times, the Wellwood children play in a story-book world in their rambling house near Romney Marsh. But their lives, and those of their cousins and friends - are already inscribed with mystery. As the sons rebel against their parents and the girls dream of independent futures, they are unaware that in the darkness ahead they will unintentionally be betrayed by the adults who love them. This is the children’s book.
A.S. Byatt
A.S. Byatt won the Booker Prize in 1990 with Possession and was shortlisted in 2009 with The Children’s Book. Writing, she said, ‘is simply the most important thing in my life’
More about A.S. Byatt Features
- Book recommendations
70 classic Booker Prize-nominated novels, recommended by our readers
- Reading guides
- Long read