Beginning in the waning years of Victorian England, following the lives and intermingling of five families and many acquaintances through the end of the first World War, The Children’s Book by A. S. Byatt is a sprawling novel of people in a world of art and social upheaval.  Olive Wellwood is a very successful writer of children’s literature.  In addition to her published works, she keeps an ongoing fairy tale, the center of their relationship, for each of her seven children.  She and her husband Humphrey consider themselves freethinkers.  They associate with artists, writers and intellectuals.  While Olive’s sister Violet lives with them and manages the household, the children are mostly left to raise themselves.  Through the lives of her characters, Byatt paints a picture of a society in a swirl of creative and intellectual ferment, of stories and beautiful objects and cafes full of intellectual exchange.  Below this surface of energy and creativity are many uncomfortable and ugly secrets and nothing is left out as the world of the parents overlaps the world of the children with complex and sometimes devastating consequences.   As always with A.S Byatt, the writing is superb, the scope impressive.  I loved this novel. ~Marla Vandewater

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