Author Dame Antonia Byatt dies aged 87

Dame Antonia, known as AS Byatt, won the 1990 Booker Prize for romance novel Possession
PA Archive
Charlotte McLaughlin17 November 2023

Dame Antonia Byatt has died at the age of 87, her publisher has said.

The author, known as AS Byatt, won the 1990 Booker Prize for romance novel Possession.

Clara Farmer, her publisher at Chatto & Windus, an imprint of Penguin Random House, said: “Antonia’s books are the most wonderful jewel boxes of stories and ideas.

“Her compulsion to write (A4 blue notebook always to hand) and her ability to create intricate skeins of narrative was remarkable. It was always a treat to see her, to hear updates about her evolving literary characters and indulge in delicious titbits of literary gossip.

“Like all Chatto’s publishers before me, I was devoted to her and her writing.

“2024 would have been her 60th (Diamond) anniversary as a Chatto author. We mourn her loss but it’s a comfort to know that her penetrating works will dazzle, shine and refract in the minds of readers for generations to come.”

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