Fiction Informed by Science

I read this essay [PDF] this morning on the subway ride to work -- A.S. Byatt waxing eloquent on science and literature, and how science has shaped her fiction and characters. From early on, Byatt was interested in reading writers who cared about the science of their time. She saw how science could be used to explore the world -- be a metaphor to bring the world alive in literature -- how science made the world accessible at a completely different level. She sees in scientists, the same motivations that drive writers -- curiosity, creativity and the need to explore. In her quartet that follows the adventures of Frederica and friends, The Virgin in the Garden, Still Life, Babel Tower and A Whistling Woman, Byatt follows her characters from the 1950s into the turn of the century. Her writing is apparently intellectual, filled with allusions and are a challenge to read. I've yet to read anything by her -- but after reading her essay, I'm motivated to give her fiction a try.