The Virgin in the Garden

[1] The novel features a strong use of symbolism, which The New York Times called "overloaded", that points towards Elizabeth I.

[1] The novel is the first of a quartet featuring Frederica Potter, followed by Still Life (1985), Babel Tower (1996), and A Whistling Woman (2002).

[2] The book features numerous flower metaphors and Byatt described the character of Marcus as "a self-portrait: somebody baffled by things being far too much and not fittable into any of the languages you were offered".

[3] The New York Times describes the writing of "Byatt is essentially a fine, careful and very traditional storyteller.

"[1] In a 1998 interview with Philip Hensher, published in The Paris Review in 2001, Byatt commented on a piece which John Sutherland had written in The Bookseller recently claiming that The Virgin in the Garden was "completely unreadable, and that he and a colleague of his and mine at University College had a bet about whether any of them could finish it and none of them could!