The Children’s Book by A.S. Byatt is a novel about several English families and their lives from 1895 through to the end of the First World War. The novel centres around Olive Wellwood, a writer of fairy tales, and her group of friends, who are artists, writers and bankers, and all of their children.
This novel traces their lives in detail, especially the children, who must grow up and make choices in love, their careers and study, and who they want to be. All the while exploring the social and political state of the world and the impact this has on their lives. Their stories have links with socialism, the anarchist movement, nascent feminism, the suffragette movement, the theatre and world of artists in this period of time – focusing much on potters and playwrights.
The narrative jumps between characters, tracing their lives (which often cross paths), and at the same time Olive Wellwood continues to write, not only stories she has published, but private stories, one for each of her children, bound in seperate colourful notebooks, which are theirs only to read and follow.
Beginning in a fairy tale like setting of Todefright (Olive Wellwood’s home) at a midsummer party, with much laughter and ending with the full tragic impact of World War One, this story looks at how life always changes and never takes the path that we dream it will when we are young.
This is an epic book. At 617 pages long and looking so deeply at many different characters lives, not to mention the political and social problems of the era, it is quite a heavy book, which is broken up with the fairy tales Olive has written for her children. Just when you start to feel bogged down in politics and banking, Byatt changes the tone with a story about a fantasy world. I must admit i found some parts of this novel tedious such as the long descriptions of pottery and potters, but the story of the chlidren, and how the grow up is really interesting and gripping, especially as they get older and have to learn to navigate their way into adulthood.
At times this book is tragic and full of suffering, but attempts to end with some hope. This is definately not a light read but well worth your time if you are interested in Edwardian England.
Rating ***
