Monday, September 23, 2013

The fifty greatest campus novels

At Flavorwire, Emily Temple tagged the fifty greatest campus novels ever written.  One title on the list:
Possession, A.S. Byatt

One of the greatest campus novels of all time doesn’t even much take place on a campus – though there are certainly enough scenes in scholars’ offices to get a picture. This beautifully written book is billed by Byatt as a romance, but really it’s a romance within a romance, and a caper and a mystery besides, all set in gorgeous landscapes both literal and literary.
Learn about the other titles on the list.

Possession also appears on John Mullan's lists of ten of the best fossils in literature, ten of the most memorable libraries in literature, ten of the best fictional poets, ten of the best locks of hair in fiction, ten of the best graveyard scenes in fiction, and ten of the best lawyers in literature, and on Rachel Syme's list of the ten most attractive men in literature, Christina Koning's critic's chart of six top romances, and Elizabeth Kostova's top ten list of books for winter nights.

--Marshal Zeringue