by A. S. Byatt
First published 1998
When a talented working-class boy enters the rarefied world of a famous children's book author, he uncovers the hidden passions and darker truths concealed within her sprawling family. As their lives intertwine, the Wellwood clan's gilded gatherings give way to the encroaching tides of history, with the advent of World War I threatening to shatter their insular existence forever.
Genres: family, literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, war, 19th-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: England
Period: 19th Century
675 pages · Hardcover · Knopf