Angels & Insects: Two Novellas

In these two “astonishing” novellas (The New Yorker), the Booker Prize-winning author of Possession returns to the landscape of Victorian England, where science and spiritualism are popular manias, and domestic decorum coexists with brutality and perversion.

"At once quirky and deep, brimming with generosity, imagination, and intelligence." —The New Yorker

In Morpho Eugenia, an explorer realises that the behaviour of the people around him is alarmingly similar to that of the insects he studies. In The Conjugal Angel, curious individuals – some fictional, others drawn from history – gather to connect with the spirit world. Throughout both, Byatt examines the eccentricities of the Victorian era, weaving fact and fiction, reality and romance, science and faith into a sumptuous, magical tapestry.

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Published Mar 29, 1994

352 pages

Average rating: 5

3 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

E Clou
May 10, 2023
6/10 stars
It's two novellas. The first one about a man who studies insects. It's probably 3 stars. Pretty well-written except it tries to surprise the reader with something you can see a mile away. The characters are all a bit flat.

The second novella is a 1 or 2 star jumble. I just kept reading it to say I finished it.

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