Posession - A. S. Byatt

I loved the premise of this novel, two scholars stumbling across a long forgotten secret: an illicit affair between two well known victorian poets, one of them very married.  I once read a brilliant book about a lost Shakespeare play and all the mystery and intrigue that followed the discovery and so my hopes were very high for this offering, especially with that Booker Prize tucked firmly underneath its belt, but I'm not sure it really delivered and it was definitely not as good as 'The Book of Air and Shadows' by Michael Gruber which is the book I just mentioned.

But for all that, this one is very well written and does keep you intrigued as you follow the story and slowly learn more clues as to where the secret takes you.  My big gripe and it's not so much a gripe as a disappointment in myself and my headspace, is that the author has written a lot of victorian poetry to back up the story and the hunt for clues and these pieces are stunningly written and very detailed.  The gripe is also that they are stunningly written, very detailed, and some pieces are pages long.

Unfortunately I was not prepared to undertake the poetry, which really deserves and demands the correct attention, and while I could skim the longer passages for key words crucial to the story, I just could not find the headspace to focus solely on the poetry itself.  This is a real shame.  Some verses are written in a style similar to Spencer's Fairie Queen verses, and so are very heavy in mythology, allegory, and fantasy as well as the normal metaphorical style of the victorian poets.  It can get heavy.  Thankfully, the shorter verses were easy to absorb and thoroughly enjoyable, this author is very versatile and talented.

So, to summarise, a well-written novel of giddy intellectual heights supported by original victorian verses by the author.  A story of suspense and intrigue with a couple of tragic romances entangled along the way.  A novel that should satisfy and one that I will return to when I feel in the mood for some excellent poetry.