Babel Tower

The Booker Prize-winning author presents an extraordinary story set in the tumultuous 1960s, a decade marked by clashing politics and shifting sexual roles. At its core are two law cases that shape the narrative: a painful divorce and custody battle, alongside the prosecution of an "obscene" book. Frederica, the independent young heroine, is entangled in both. After marrying a violent country squire, she flees to London with their son and secures a teaching position at an art school, immersing herself in the vibrant new decade. Here, poets and painters challenge traditional values, rallying around the enigmatic Jude Mason, a hippie figure with flowing gray hair. The atmosphere is charged with unease, sex, and cruelty, culminating in the controversy surrounding his novel Babbletower, which depicts a revolutionary era where a group seeks to create an ideal community. Throughout the story, characters increasingly function in groups, grappling with the notion of protecting the young. The fashionable belief in children's innocence becomes increasingly perilous. Byatt's vision blends the influences of the Marquis de Sade and The Hobbit, featuring a cast of bizarre and colorful characters, making the narrative as comic as it is threatening.