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Quick answer: If you loved Possession, try The French Lieutenant's Woman, The Historian, The Swan Thieves, The Forgotten Garden, The Thirteenth Tale and The Essex Serpent. Each one offers a literary mystery, buried letters or a past that speaks to the present.
A.S. Byatt's Booker Prize winner follows two modern scholars, Roland Michell and Maud Bailey, who discover hidden letters between two Victorian poets. As they chase the truth about that secret love, they begin to change themselves. The novel is known for its invented poems, letters and diaries. Readers love its romance, its detective plot and its love of language. These books share its hidden histories, its bookish hunts and its rich Victorian atmosphere.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Era | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| The French Lieutenant's Woman | John Fowles | Victorian | readers who like clever narrators |
| The Historian | Elizabeth Kostova | Multi-era | readers who like archive hunts |
| The Swan Thieves | Elizabeth Kostova | Multi-era | readers who like letters and art |
| The Forgotten Garden | Kate Morton | Multi-era | readers who like family secrets |
| The Thirteenth Tale | Diane Setterfield | Gothic | readers who like biographers |
| The Essex Serpent | Sarah Perry | Victorian | readers who like big ideas |
| The Children's Book | A.S. Byatt | Edwardian | readers who want more Byatt |
| Fingersmith | Sarah Waters | Victorian | readers who like twists |
| The Crimson Petal and the White | Michel Faber | Victorian | readers who want a big, frank novel |
| The Shadow of the Wind | Carlos Ruiz Zafón | 20th century | readers who like books about books |
| Arcadia | Tom Stoppard | Multi-era | readers who love plays |
| The Sea, the Sea | Iris Murdoch | 20th century | readers who like Booker winners |
| Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell | Susanna Clarke | Regency | readers who like footnotes |
| The Binding | Bridget Collins | Fantasy | readers who like magical books |
| A Discovery of Witches | Deborah Harkness | Multi-era | readers who want romance with their manuscripts |
1. The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles
A Victorian gentleman becomes obsessed with a disgraced woman on the English coast.
Best for: readers who like clever narrators.
2. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
A girl follows old letters that may lead to the real Dracula.
Best for: readers who like archive hunts.
3. The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova
A psychiatrist uncovers a 19th-century love story to help a troubled painter.
Best for: readers who like letters and art.
4. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
A woman traces why her grandmother was left on a ship as a child.
Best for: readers who like family secrets.
5. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
A famous author finally tells a young biographer her true story.
Best for: readers who like biographers.
6. The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry
A widowed naturalist investigates rumors of a sea monster in Essex.
Best for: readers who like big ideas.
7. The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt
Several families live through the years before the First World War.
Best for: readers who want more Byatt.
8. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
A pickpocket helps a con man rob an heiress, but nothing goes to plan.
Best for: readers who like twists.
9. The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber
A clever young sex worker rises through London society.
Best for: readers who want a big, frank novel.
10. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
A boy in Barcelona discovers that someone is destroying a certain author's work.
Best for: readers who like books about books.
11. Arcadia by Tom Stoppard
Scholars and a brilliant Regency girl share one country house across centuries.
Best for: readers who love plays.
12. The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdoch
A retired theater director writes about his obsession with a lost love.
Best for: readers who like Booker winners.
13. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Two magicians revive English magic during the Napoleonic Wars.
Best for: readers who like footnotes.
14. The Binding by Bridget Collins
A bookbinder's apprentice discovers books that hold people's memories.
Best for: readers who like magical books.
15. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
A scholar and witch finds a lost manuscript and a vampire scientist.
Best for: readers who want romance with their manuscripts.
How to Choose
The nearest match is The French Lieutenant's Woman, which likewise plays with Victorian fiction and modern commentary. For the thrill of a hunt through archives, go to The Historian or The Swan Thieves. If the love letters and family secrets were your favorite part, The Forgotten Garden and The Thirteenth Tale are much easier reads and very satisfying. If you want the dense pleasures of Victorian England, The Essex Serpent, Fingersmith and The Crimson Petal and the White are wonderful choices. For romance and magic in the library, A Discovery of Witches is the most popular choice, though its tone is far from Byatt's. Arcadia is a short play that readers often say comes closest to Possession's intellectual joy.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Possession about?
Two modern scholars uncover a secret love affair between two Victorian poets through hidden letters.
Did Possession win the Booker Prize?
Yes. A.S. Byatt won the Booker Prize for it in 1990.
Are the poets in Possession real?
No. Randolph Henry Ash and Christabel LaMotte are fictional, and Byatt wrote their poems herself.
Was Possession made into a movie?
Yes. A film starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Aaron Eckhart came out in 2002.
Is Possession hard to read?
It is demanding because of its poems and letters, but the mystery rewards patience.