Adversaries: A.S. Byatt vs. Margaret Drabble

A.S. Byatt (1936-2023) and Margaret Drabble (1939-present) are sisters and writers. Both achieved global fame at different points in their career and the British tabloids played up the feud between them. 

For Further Reading: 

• “A Narrative of Jealousy and Bafflement and Resentment”
• What Possessed A.S. Byatt? 
• Margaret Drabble, the Art of Fiction

This month we’re talking about adversaries. These women fought against systems, governments and – sometimes each other to break barriers in their respective fields. They did unthinkable and sometimes unspeakable things to carve out their place in history.

History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.

Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.

Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Lindsey Kratochwill, Adesuwa Agbonile, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Sara Schleede, Paloma Moreno Jimenez, Luci Jones, Abbey Delk, Hannah Bottum, Lauren Willams, and Adrien Behn. Special thanks to Shira Atkins. Original theme music composed by Miles Moran.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello from Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this
is Womanica. This month, we're talking about adversaries, women who
fought for their place in history, whether they fought to
get to the top of their sport against how society
preceived them, or fought with each other to be champions.
We're talking about women who broke barriers and sometimes did
seemingly impossible or unspeakable things to carve out their place

(00:25):
in history. Like the barrier breakers we're covering throughout the month,
our partners at Camry are also inspiring women to seek knowledge, creativity, joy,
and experiences that will continue to push boundaries in literature.
Sibling rivalries can be seen as an old cliche. Today's
wolmanniquins would likely agree, but that didn't stop their infamous feud.

(00:46):
These two equally talented sisters became globally recognized writers. They
were pinned against each other from the beginning, first by
their mother and then later the British tabloids. Please welcome
as By and Margaret Drabble. Let's start with as full name,
Antonia Susan. Her family nickname was Sue. Antonia was born

(01:13):
first in nineteen thirty six. Her sister, Margaret followed three
years later and nipped at Antonia's heels for the rest
of her life. They grew up in Sheffield, England, and
had a younger sister and brother. Their mother, Kathleen, was
the first to raise the stakes. Kathleen told her children
they would attend the University of Cambridge right around the

(01:33):
age they started to read. Kathleen was resentful that she
had to sacrifice her teaching career to raise her children,
so she set high expectations for them all during childhood,
Antonia and Margaret's relationship was tense. Antonia believed that their
mother favored Margaret. That made Antonia feel temporary. Margaret said

(01:55):
that their dynamic was typical. The older sibling found the
younger sibling annoying, while the younger sibling held nothing but
admiration for her older sister. From the beginning, Antonia was
the writer and wrote all throughout boarding school. Margaret pursued acting.
It wasn't until the early nineteen sixties that the typical
sibling rival re entered a new arena. According to Margaret,

(02:18):
she had no interest in writing, at least not until
she was pregnant, and she found herself with nothing to
do to fill the time, she pulled out a typewriter,
sat down at a desk, and ended up writing her
debut novel, titled A Summer Bird Cage. It was published
shortly after and gained major popularity. Margaret was twenty three

(02:38):
years old. Her sister's first novel wouldn't be published for
another year. In response to Margaret's sudden success, Antonia later
said in an interview, if I had not been a
driven writer, I would have quietly given up when she
first published a novel. It would have been much the
easiest thing to do. Instead of quitting. It became a

(02:59):
race to the top. Before it was just their mother
comparing them. Now it was readers everywhere. For the next
few years, Margaret's typewriter gave off Steen, Antonia slipped into
the background and taught at the University of London. Margaret
soon became the more famous writer and published five more
books by the end of the sixties. She also won

(03:20):
two literary prizes. On the other hand, Antonia published three
books in the same timespan, and the feud eventually worked
its way into the pages of her books. Antonia's second novel,
The Game, was about a sister rivalry. In fact, both
sisters pulled from their real life experiences in their writing,
which only intensified and extended their childhood dynamic. When Margaret

(03:45):
wrote a family tea set into one of her books,
she later noted that it made Antonia so upset. But
their literary voices were different. Where Margaret tended to write
about contemporary times, Antonia found herself in word or old
to fantasy and history, While Margaret claimed they didn't read
each other's work, The British tabloids continued to stoke the flames.

(04:09):
In nineteen seventy two, Antonia's son was killed by a
driver the week of his eleventh birthday. Struck by grief,
she didn't publish any books for years and instead focused
on teaching. In nineteen seventy eight, Antonia re emerged with
her novel The Virgin in the Garden. Death and dead
children became recurring images in her writing, but she also

(04:32):
leaned more towards happy endings. Through the nineteen eighties, Margaret
continued to publish when awards and received honorary doctorates from
around the country. It wasn't until the nineties that Antonia
finally eclipsed her younger sister. In nineteen ninety, Antonia published Possession.
It was turned into a movie and won her the
prestigious Booker Prize, and the tabloids resurfaced the sister's viewed.

(04:57):
A writer claimed that on the night of the award,
Margaret said she had bet one hundred dollars that her
older sister would win. That way, Margaret could be happy
with either outcome. Both sisters deny this happened and claimed
that they never really had a feud. Over the course
of their storied careers, they each dabbled in criticism, short stories, biographies,

(05:17):
memoir essays, and wrote an abundance of novels. They accumulated
impressive numbers of awards, honorary doctorates, and fans. Yet, even
when the sisters were well into their seventies, the tabloids
continued to publish articles about their animosity for one another.
As Byatt passed away in twenty twenty three at the
age of eighty seven, Margaret Drapple still lives in England.

(05:42):
Between them, their family, and the tabloids, it's hard to
say who was really in control of the narrative. All month,
we're talking about adversaries. For more information, find us on
Facebook and Instagram at Wamanica Podcast Special thanks to Lizkaplock,
my favorite sister and co creator. Talk to you tomorrow