A consideration of the work of the novelist and critic A.S. Byatt in the context of contemporary debates about art, authorship, creativity and gender. A.S. Byatt emerges as an author who presents fascinating and ambivalent portraits of writers and who uses metaphors of creativity in original ways.

A consideration of the work of the novelist and critic A.S. Byatt in the context of contemporary debates about art, authorship, creativity and gender. A.S. Byatt emerges as an author who presents us with fascinating and ambivalent portraits of writers and who uses metaphors of creativity in original ways. The book rejects previous traditionalist, non-feminist interpretations of Byatt.

Preface - Acknowledgements - The Turtle and Its Adversaries: Polyvocality in A.S. Byatt's Critical and Academic Work - The Shadow of the Sun: The Lady of Shalott or the Writer as Genius - The Game: Cassandra or the Writer as Proto-Feminist Visionary - Possession: Melusine or the Writer as Serpent Woman - Art Made Me: Conclusion - Notes - Bringing Language and Thought to Life - Select Bibliography - Index