The Virgin in the Garden is a 1978 realistic novel written by English author A. S. Byatt. The story takes place in the same year as the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. It follows a play about Queen Elizabeth I of England. The novel uses many symbols, which The New York Times described as "overloaded," to represent Elizabeth I. This book is the first in a series of four novels featuring a character named Frederica Potter. The other books in the series are Still Life (1985), Babel Tower (1996), and A Whistling Woman (2002). The book includes many flower metaphors. Byatt described the character Marcus as "a self-portrait: somebody confused by things being too much and not fitting into any of the languages you are given."

Reception

The New York Times says that A.S. Byatt is a skilled and traditional writer who tells stories carefully. In an interview with Philip Hensher from 1998, which was published in The Paris Review in 2001, Byatt discussed a recent article by John Sutherland in The Bookseller. In the article, Sutherland claimed that the book The Virgin in the Garden was "completely unreadable" and described a bet between him and a colleague from University College. They wagered whether either of them could finish reading the book, but neither could. Byatt mentioned that Sutherland wrote this in a publication. She expressed surprise when others say that people are reading the book.