Penelope Fitzgerald
British novelist who began publishing fiction at sixty and went on to produce a body of work admired for its wry precision and elegant economy. The Blue Flower and Offshore, which won the Booker Prize, are among her finest achievements. She is now widely regarded as a major twentieth-century novelist.
Works
- OffshoreNovel of bohemian lives on houseboats on the Thames in post-war London
- Human VoicesNovel set at the BBC during World War Two documenting voices and inner lives
- The BookshopNovel of a widow attempting to open a bookshop against her provincial town's hostility
- The Gate of AngelsNovel of a don and maid exploring romantic possibility after a near-fatal accident
- The Blue FlowerNovel of the German Romantic poet Novalis during his brief, passionate life
- The Beginning of SpringNovel of a wealthy businessman's return to Russia after fifteen years of exile
- InnocenceNovel set in Renaissance Italy exploring love, religion, and moral corruption