Possession

By: A. S. Byatt

Narrated by: Virginia Leishman

Length: 22 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

Winner of England's Booker Prize and a literary sensation, Possession is an exhilarating novel of wit and romance, at once an intellectual mystery and a triumphant love story.

As a pair of young scholars research the lives of two Victorian poets, they uncover their letters, journals, and poems and track their movements from London to Yorkshire - from spiritualist seances to the fairy-haunted far west of Brittany. What emerges is an extraordinary counterpoint of passion and ideas.

©1990 A.S. Byatt (P)1999 Recorded Books

Excellent narrator! Brought the poetry to life.

Enjoyed this audio book. I enjoyed reading the book and was pleasantly surprised with how much the narrator brought the book alive. I really thought this wouldn't make a good audio book, how wrong I was.

Challenging, but Worth It

What made the experience of listening to Possession the most enjoyable?

Byatt weaves together two story lines, one set in Victorian England and the other in present day academia, in England. She is an academic herself and this is probably the best (and funniest) portrayal I've come across. At the same time the themes are deep and resonant. It's hard to believe that she made the two Victorian poets out of thin air, they are so clearly drawn.

What did you like best about this story?

Byatt writes beautifully, but mostly she can tell a story that works as a mystery, love story, academic send-up, and an historical.

Which scene was your favorite?

The scene in the graveyard was the perfect crisis, exciting, evocative, satirical.

Who was the most memorable character of Possession and why?

Christabel LaMott, the Victorian writer and poet.

Any additional comments?

Byatt composed two sets of poetry for this novel, one for each of the Victorian poets. This is not light reading, but then on the other hand you can get a lot out of this novel even skipping over the poetry. The narrator really delivered, as well.

Excellent reader, fine tale

I enjoyed this. I think I'd be annoyed if someone build a perfect replica of a 19th century building in my neighborhood, but thoroughly enjoyed her conjuring of two fictitious 19th century poets. Go figure!

Romantic mystery about thrilling literature !!

I have a weakness for books about books. I also have a weakness for detective and thriller novels. I further admit to a weakness for romance novels. Enter Possession, a book written via letters, articles and prose which unfurls a mystery about a much studied English poet and a a heretofore unknown friendship (or romantic relationship) with an also studied English poetess, both of whom lived in the mid-1800s. The book takes place in "modern" day around the late 20th century as two Victorian scholars team up and embark upon one of the greatest Victorian literary discoveries of the century. Erudite, skillful, enthralling and edifying, Ms. Byatt displays her considerable skill in writing poetry, adopting different voices in letters and weaving together seemingly disparate family dramas in one triumphant symphony. Brava and a must read.

Take of love list and found of two English poets. poets

Excellent novel of Victorian characters. Great imagery through language and poetry. Mystery surrounds this hidden love story. Ending surprises you when threads of characters’ lives are tied together. Beautiful tale.

Genius book

This book is brilliant. Loved hearing so much of the poetry and correspondence sections read aloud.

Digitization errors! Please do some QA in your files.

I love this story. But there are horrible skips in the audio. See the reading of Swammerdam in part 12. Someone should be listening to these titles and making sure they surivived digitization particularly if you're ripping them from CDs. Sheesh.

Rediscovering a Favorite

I love this book -- read it when it first came out and then again for a book club. Several years have passed. One of the things I love about Audible is finding a fondly remembered book, then discovering a whole new experience in the hearing of it! Possession is very well narrated here, and I just had a wonderful wallow in the joys of this book's language! The plot combines poetry, historical and contemporary romance, and a literary mystery. Possession is not for everyone, but, if you have the occasional poetic and romantic inclination, make the investment.

style is heavy-handed

Any additional comments?

This book has a style and characters that are not that exciting to me, but would probably be to someone else. The characters like libraries and manuscripts and probably (it's been a while since I read it),a spot of hot tea to really make the world right. It was all very into the joys and nail-biting of academia, if that's what you like, with an extra teaspoon of fuss-budget. The characters seem a little geriatric for as young as they're supposed to be. Some books of this genre really work for me (give me Jane Austen and yes, some Earl Grey),and I wish this could have been one. (The Historian by E. Kostova was good, too).

Beautiful

Leisham does a masterful job of reading - sensitive, passionate, respectful. A beautiful love story wrapped in mystery.