A.S. Byatt's Possession: A Reader's Guide

This is part of the "Continuum Contemporaries" series. It is a very useful resource for teaching/learning about A. S. Byatt's novel, POSSESSION, as well as about the author and the themes/issues in the novel. My only critique is that I wish it had a compendium that listed all of the different literary allusions in the book. Even without that, though, it is a helpful resource.

Reading A.S.Byatt's "Possession" can be a daunting task as the novel is not only interpersed with poetry and letters written by all the fictional historical characters, but is filled with allusions that only a lifetime afficiando of literature would understand. This little book by Ms Burgass will help the less erudite reader peel back the layers that comprise the entire work. The guide is broken down into various sections that will answer questions regarding all manner of topics related to the novel. The author, the novel itself, the novel's reception, the novel's standing today, and a helpful list of study questions,further reading and websites round out the chapter topics. I found the chapter on the novel sufficiently comprehensive to answer all my questions regarding the fictional works of Ash and LaMotte. Coverage of the novel's various themes was also extremely instructional.I recommend this to all who enjoyed the movie and want to fully enjoy the book's entire experience.

I'm the first to admit that 'Possession' is a complex novel, but it's also one of my favourites. This guidebook might seem like an odd idea (why do you need a guidebook to a novel??) - having just finished it, though, I'm left feeling even more impressed by the novel, and itching to read it again. Dr Burgass writes clearly and is deeply knowledgeable about her subject. There are so many levels to this novel, so many nuances, and she captures most of them wonderfully. This is all in the main chapter of the book. The other material seems like a bonus: a brief history of Byatt's career and a great little section about how (and why) this clever novel sold so well. It's even current enough to have a page about the film adaptation, which as far as I know has not been released yet. But it sounds intriguing. Which is probably a good reason to read this book now - then you will know more about the novel when everybody starts talking about it again.