The Children's Book Book

A S Byatt has just been declared this year's winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize which was awarded this August at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2010. At the festival she was discussing her latest novel The Children's Book so I decided to take a look and I was not disappointed. The novel, in which the opening scene is set in the rich surroundings of the Victoria and Albert museum in London, follows the lives of several families (particularly their children) from 1895 through to the end of World War 1 and focuses on the complex interrelationships between the enormous cast of characters. The author's supreme historical knowledge is evident throughout and subjects such as politics, the arts, the class system, emerging feminism, free love and family secrets, are dealt with expertly and with immense attention to detail. The Wellwoods are Fabians and the central character, Olive Wellwood supports her family by writing children's literature (mainly shadowy fairy stories) though somewhat neglecting them in other ways. The children, to whom the title of the book refers, are followed as they develop into adulthood and the effect of the unexpected arrival of WW1 on their lives is richly portrayed. This is a complex and multi-layered novel and one which deserves to be read several times in order to tease out the many gems which might be missed on the first reading. I will certainly be reading it again. Read More