London: Chatto & Windus, 2000. First Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Near Fine. 5x0x8. Signed by author. First edition. Signed by author without inscription. Jacket spine head very lightly bumped. 2000 Hard Cover. 265 pp. "In this witty, Borges-like fiction, A.S. Byatt weaves a dazzling fiction out of one man's search for fact. Fed up with stultifying criticism, Phineas G. decides to study the messiness of 'real life'. Doing nothing by halves he sets out to write a biography of a great biographer. But a 'whole life' is hard to find. How do we put the idea of a person together? Everywhere he looks he finds fragments and gaps: bones and husks, boxes of marbles, collections of coins and undated postcards. Trails run cold and mysteries are unresolved. Phineas feels he is hunting shadows. Like a shaman flying across the globe, his mind tracks the journeys of his subjects to the deserts of Africa and the maelstroms of the Arctic, where the shapes of myth meet the patterns of science. He meets others building wholes from bits and pieces: taxonomists, ecologists to travel agents offering the trip of your dreams. In the process he also puzzles out his own future - but which woman will guide him out of the labyrinth? Tantalising, comic and rueful, The Biographer's Tale is a modern delight, a colour-filled novel of detection and desire.

Synopsis

A.S. Byatt, author of the Booker Prize-winning Possession is one of Britain’s leading novelists. Her recent, highly acclaimed Babel Tower was the last part of a trilogy of the post-war years which began with The Virgin in the Garden and Still Life . Her latest collection of short stories was Elementals (1998). She was created a Dame of the British Empire in 1999.

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Details

Bookseller: Yesterday's Muse Books (US)
Bookseller's Inventory #: 2271606
Title: The Biographer's Tale
Author: Byatt, A.S
Format/Binding: Hard Cover
Book Condition: Used - Near Fine
Jacket Condition: Near Fine
Quantity Available: 1
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardcover
ISBN 10: 0701169451
ISBN 13: 9780701169459
Publisher: Chatto & Windus
Place of Publication: London
Date Published: 2000
Size: 5x0x8
Keywords: AS BYATT FICTION
X weight: 16 oz

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About Yesterday's Muse Books

Yesterday's Muse Inc. is an independent used & rare bookseller that has been in operation for over 15 years. We opened our first 'brick and mortar' storefront in December of 2008 in our hometown of Webster, NY.Owner Jonathan Smalter is a member of the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA), former vice president of the Independent Online Booksellers Association (IOBA), both of which are trade organizations created to promote ethical online selling practices, and to encourage continuing education among fellow booksellers. He is also a 2011 graduate of the Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar (CABS). He has nearly 20 years of experience in the book trade, during which time he has become adept at evaluating used and collectible books.

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Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

First Edition: In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
Jacket: Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
G: Good describes the average used and worn book that has all pages or leaves present. Any defects must be noted. (as defined by AB...
Fine: A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
Spine: The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....