This book provides innovative readings of the key texts of A.S. Byatt's oeuvre by analysing the negotiations of individual identity, cultural memory, and literature which inform Byatt's novels. Steveker explores the concepts of identity constructed in the novels, showing them to be deeply rooted in British literary history and cultural memory.

'Steveker's monograph combines a brilliant capacity for minute descriptions of highly complex theories with a talent for sophisticated criticism.' - ZAA

'...aptly captures Byatt's unique blend of energentic storytelling and astute intellectualism, and with it the essentially hermeneutic model of the reading and writing imagination that informs much, perhaps all of Byatt's writerly output.' - English Studies

Autorentext

LENA STEVEKER holds a PhD from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and teaches British Literary and Cultural Studies at Saarland University, Germany. She has published articles on contemporary British literature and early modern drama. Her current book project is a co-edited collection of critical essays on the Harry Potter novels.

Inhalt
Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Introduction PART I: IDENTITY Concepts of Identity in Possession and The Biographer's Tale Self and Other in Possession and The Biographer's Tale Concepts of Identity in A.S. Byatt's Tetralogy The Gendered Self 60 Female Autonomy 75 Reconciling Body and Mind: the 'Thinking Woman' PART II: IDENTITY CULTURAL MEMORY LITERATURE Identity and Memory Figures of Memory: Elizabeth I and Shakespeare Cultural Texts: Identity and Literature Imaginary Museums: Intertextuality and Cultural Memory Memorial Novels: the English Renaissance and the Victorian Age Mnemonic Spaces: Identity and Genre Conclusion Notes and References Bibliography Index