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The Biographer’s Tale

A Novel

By A. S. Byatt

By A. S. Byatt

By A. S. Byatt

By A. S. Byatt

Best Seller

Part of Vintage International

Part of Vintage International

Paperback $16.00

Dec 04, 2001 | ISBN 9780375725081

Ebook $12.99

May 15, 2001 | ISBN 9780375413421

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    The Biographer's Tale by A. S. Byatt
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    Dec 04, 2001 | ISBN 9780375725081
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      Dec 04, 2001 | ISBN 9780375725081

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      May 15, 2001 | ISBN 9780375413421

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    About The Biographer’s Tale

    From the award-winning author of Possession comes an ingenious novel about love and literary sleuthing: a dazzling fiction woven out of one man’s search for fact.

    Here is the story of Phineas G. Nanson, a disenchanted graduate student who decides to escape the world of postmodern literary theory and immerse himself in the messiness of “real life” by writing a biography of a great biographer. In a series of adventures that are by turns intellectual and comic, scientific and sensual, Phineas tracks his subject to the deserts of Africa and the maelstrom of the Arctic. Along the way he comes to rely on two women, one of whom may be the guide he needs out of the dizzying labyrinth of his research and back into his own life. A tantalizing yarn of detection and desire, The Biographer’s Tale is a provocative look at “truth” in biography and our perennial quest for certainty.

    About The Biographer’s Tale

    From the award-winning author of Possession comes an ingenious novel about love and literary sleuthing: a dazzling fiction woven out of one man’s search for fact.

    Here is the story of Phineas G. Nanson, a disenchanted graduate student who decides to escape the world of postmodern literary theory and immerse himself in the messiness of “real life” by writing a biography of a great biographer. In a series of adventures that are by turns intellectual and comic, scientific and sensual, Phineas tracks his subject to the deserts of Africa and the maelstrom of the Arctic. Along the way he comes to rely on two women, one of whom may be the guide he needs out of the dizzying labyrinth of his research and back into his own life. A tantalizing yarn of detection and desire, The Biographer’s Tale is a provocative look at “truth” in biography and our perennial quest for certainty.

    Read An Excerpt

    Reading Guide

    Read An Excerpt

    Reading Guide

    Also by A. S. Byatt

    Peacock & Vine
    Possession
    The Children's Book
    Little Black Book of Stories
    Vintage Byatt
    See all books by A. S. Byatt

    Also by A. S. Byatt

    Peacock & Vine
    Possession
    The Children's Book
    Little Black Book of Stories
    Vintage Byatt
    See all books by A. S. Byatt

    About A. S. Byatt

    A. S. Byatt is the author of numerous novels, including The Children’s Book, The Biographer’s Tale, and Possession, which was awarded the Booker Prize. She has also written two novellas, published together as Angels & Insects, five collections of short stories, and several works of nonfiction. Byatt… More about A. S. Byatt

    About A. S. Byatt

    A. S. Byatt is the author of numerous novels, including The Children’s Book, The Biographer’s Tale, and Possession, which was awarded the Booker Prize. She has also written two novellas, published together as Angels & Insects, five collections of short stories, and several works of nonfiction. Byatt… More about A. S. Byatt

    Product Details

    Category: Literary Fiction | Mystery & Suspense

    Paperback | $16.00
    Published by Vintage
    Dec 04, 2001 | 320 Pages | 5-3/16 x 8 | ISBN 9780375725081

    Category: Literary Fiction | Mystery & Suspense

    Ebook | $12.99
    Published by Vintage
    May 15, 2001 | 320 Pages | ISBN 9780375413421

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    Praise

    “Elegant . . .witty . . . intelligent.” –The Washington Post

    “A tenderly funny novel. . . .One of Byatt’s most exuberant books.” –The Baltimore Sun

    “Wise, sharp-witted. . . . miss it at your peril.”–St. Louis Post-Dispatch

    “An impressive achievement, a literary mosaic at once exotic, academic, esoteric, engaging, and disconcerting. . . . A feast for the brain” –The Denver Post

    “One of Byatt’s most exuberant books.”–The Baltimore Sun

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