A volume of stories from A. S. Byatt is always a joy, and this one is rich and rare indeed. In the same delectable format as The Matisse Stories and The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye, this collection deals with fullest lives.

A scholar pursues an elusive biographer, stumbling upon buried fragments of distant lives; a woman walks out of her previous existence and encounters an ice-blond stranger from a secretive world; a schoolgirl draws a blood-filled picture of Jael; a swimming pool reveals a beauteous monster in its depths.

The settings range from the heat of Provence in summer to the cold forests of Scandinavia, from chalk-strewn classrooms to herb-scented hillsides, from suburban streets to rocky wilds. A marvellous present for all A. S. Byatt fans, this magical collection is also the perfect introduction to one of our finest contemporary writers.