From the author of the New York times bestseller possession, comes a highly acclaimed novel which captures in brilliant detail the life of one extended English family--and illuminates the choices they must make between d...From the author of the New York times bestseller possession, comes a highly acclaimed novel which captures in brilliant detail the life of one extended English family--and illuminates the choices they must make between domesticity and ambition, life and art. Toni morrison, author of beloved, writes of byatt: "When it comes to probing characters her scalpel is sure but gentle.