"The Virgin in the Garden" is the first novel of the "Frederica Quartet," considered perhaps the main work of the dame of the Order of the British Empire, Antonia Susan Bayett. The tetralogy was written over a quarter of a century, and its plot also spans twenty-five years, with the first two novels published before the Booker Prize-winning international bestseller "Possession," and the third and fourth after. In "The Virgin in the Garden," a modern comedy of manners and Elizabethan drama unpredictably intersect and resonate, as life imitates art. The Yorkshire Potter family prepares, along with the entire empire, to celebrate the coronation of the new monarch — Elizabeth II. But the younger generation has their own concerns: Stephanie, tired of her father's authoritarianism, is preparing to marry the local clergyman; mathematical prodigy Marcus is troubled by disturbing visions; and for Frederica, desperately yearning to immerse herself in the wider world, a passion for a young playwright may serve as her ticket to freedom... "The Virgin in the Garden" is a contemporary epic akin to a skillfully woven, rich tapestry. Bayett's characters pose the main questions of their time. Their voices sound sincere, sometimes faltering, sometimes achieving astonishing beauty" (Entertainment Weekly)