About this title: In THE VIRGIN IN THE GARDEN, Byatt begins her series of four novels about the startlingly intellectual Potter family. In this first installment, it is the early '50s, the war is just over, and Elizabeth II has just been crowned queen of England. The plot revolves around an amateur dramatic production of the life of the earlier Queen Elizabeth, and ...
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Description: Good. This book has medium cover wear, light spine tilt, light creases on covers, light page edge wear, light natural browning on covers-page edges. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Edition: First Paperback Edition
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage Books, New York, New York, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1992
ISBN-13:9780679738299ISBN:0679738290
Description: Very Good. 8vo-over 7 3/4"-9 3/4" Tall 0679738290 Used light browning to edges. read more
Description: Very Good. Trade paperback. Not a first edition copy. Very good condition; edges, corners, and covers of book show minor wear and discoloration. No underlining; no highlighting; no internal markings except for previous owner's name on ffep or inside front cover. Spine creasing. In sealed plastic protection. 1992. Trade paperback. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 1992-01-15
ISBN-13:9780679738299ISBN:0679738290
Description: Good. Edges are a little worn. Every heavytail order includes with a sweet! We carefully hand clean and reinspect each and every item we ship. Our quality control process ensures items to be in the condition described or better. Heavytail is determined to earn your repeat business through old fashioned customer service. We love international orders. read more
"This novel, the first in the "Frederica quartet," was much less compelling than Byatt's "Possession." "The Virgin in the Garden" was a novel with some interesting ideas, but it lacked narrative drive. The main drama seemed to involve the question of whether Frederica would lose her virginity with Alexander, which for me was just about as compelling as watching the QVC shopping channel for an hour. Or two."
"I absolutely loved Possession...the back and forth between the 'present' and the past, the interplay between the characters, and the unraveling of the mystery.
This book has some interesting characters, but there's no back and forth in history, and no puzzle to solve. It is (so far), strictly a drama of small-town English life. Although it is very well written (incredible phrasing more often than not) I'm not sure I'm going to finish it."
"Long novel, difficult in parts for the American reader, but kept me reading for a week. Byatt is a brainy novelist along with being an acute observer of everyday lives, especially of women. I kept a dictionary handy. The story centers on three offspring (late teens to early twenties) of a prep school teacher as they come to terms with others in their lives in dramatic ways (no pun intended, although presenting a theatrical work is a mainspring of the action). The description of Stephanie and Daniel's being on a windswept structure at the sea where their lives change is the most compelling description of growing sexual awareness I have read. Set in Yorkshire in the 1950s, with a jump ahead to London 1968. So far, followed by Still Life and The Babel Tower."
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