Possession: A Romance

Summary

A.S. Byatt is noted for her ability to weave richly detailed stories. But in Possession she has created a stunning tour-de-force. It is mesmerizing literary mystery filled with poetry and passion. Roland Mitchell, a young academic assistant, has devoted his life to studying the life and works of 19th century writer Randolph Henry Ash. One day in the university library, Roland opens a dusty volume and finds a provocative letter written by Ash to an unnamed woman. From that moment, Roland begins a quest for information about this mysterious person. His search will take him into the domain of Dr. Maud Bailey, a beautiful, keenly intelligent, and fiercely independent scholar. What they will discover is an unusual and unconventional love story that echos through their own lives. The chapters of Possession sing with the gorgeous cadences of Ash's poetry as Roland and Maud piece together the relationship between the writer and his muse. Narrator Virginia Leishman captures all the subtlety of Byatt's remarkable book.