The publication of Possession (1990) brought world-wide renown for A. S. Byatt and prompted a reappraisal of her work. Her ideas on fiction writing, and on religion, philosophy, and the fairy tale, have stimulated discussion among critics and readers alike. In this first book-length study of her work, Richard Todd considers the entire range of Byatt's writing including the most recent novel, Babel Tower (1996). He explores the paradox whereby her intense sense of privacy co-exists with an unflinching honesty, and he examines Byatt's fictional treatment of themes such as families, biography, Darwinism, 'real accident', and the fantastic.