“I am not an academic who happens to have written a novel, I am a novelist who happens to be quite good academically.” This is how, the acclaimed author of the Booker Prize winning novel ‘Possession’, described herself in an interview with New York Times magazine in 1991. Dame Antonia Susan Byatt, whose career spanned nearly 60 years, found fame and love of many through fiction.
Her publisher Chatto & Windus, part of Penguin Random House, described her as "one of the most significant writers and critics of our time".
"She died peacefully at home surrounded by close family," it said in a statement. "Antonia had a remarkable mind which produced a unique creative vision."
Born on August 24, 1936, in the northern English city of Sheffield, AS Byatt received her education at a Quaker school in nearby York. She pursued further studies at both Cambridge and Oxford before embarking on a career in teaching English and American Literature in London from 1972.
A mother of three daughters, Byatt was struck by tragedy when her only son Charles was killed crossing the road in the week of his 11th birthday.
In 1964, AS Byatt published her debut novel, "Shadow of a Sun," narrating the tale of a young girl navigating the challenges of growing up under the influence of a commanding father. Subsequent works, composed fervently during university breaks, filled her literary portfolio. Byatt made the decision to abandon teaching in 1983, transitioning to a full-time writing career. Her pivotal moment arrived seven years later with the release of "Possession," a bestselling novel that clinched the prestigious Booker Prize for Fiction in the same year.
Dame Antonia was also known for writing 2009's the Children's Book, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Her most recent publication was a collection of short stories - 2021's Medusa's Ankles: Selected Stories (2021).
"Antonia's Quaker schooling encouraged a clear independence of thought, and throughout her career she had an unerring ability to ask direct and searching questions," Penguin said in their statement.
