Author A.S. Byatt, who wrote best-seller ‘Possession’ and had a beetle named after her, dies at 87

LONDON — British author A.S. Byatt, who wove history, myth and a sharp eye for human foibles into books that included the Booker Prize-winning novel “Possession,” has died at the age of 87. Byatt’s publisher, Chatto & Windus, said Friday that the author, whose full name was Antonia Byatt, died “peacefully at home surrounded by close family” on Thursday. Byatt’s other books include four novels set in 1950s and ‘60s Britain that together are known as the Frederica Quartet: “The Virgin in the Garden,” published in 1978, followed by “Still Life,” “Babel Tower” and “A Whistling Woman.” She also wrote the 2009 Booker Prize finalist “The Children’s Book,” a sweeping story of Edwardian England centered on a writer of fairy tales. Byatt’s literary agent, Zoe Waldie, said the author “held readers spellbound” with writing that was “multi-layered, endlessly varied and deeply intellectual, threaded through with myths and metaphysics.” Clara Farmer, Byatt’s publisher at Chatto & Windus — part of Penguin Random House — said the author’s books were “the most wonderful jewel-boxes of stories and ideas.” “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,” Farmer said.