The Gates of Ivory

Novel by Margaret Drabble

Publication date

1991

The Gates of Ivory
First edition (publ. Viking)
Author	Margaret Drabble
Publisher	Viking Books
Publication date	1991
ISBN	978-0-670-84270-4

The Gates of Ivory is a 1991 novel by novelist Margaret Drabble.^[1] The novel is the third in a series of novels, following The Radiant Way and A Natural Curiosity. The novel continues the stories of several middle aged intellectuals introduced in the last two novels. The novel also introduces a new character, Stephen Cox who is loosely based on J.G. Farrell.^[2]

The novel includes metafiction reflecting on the choices Drabble made while writing the novel.^[3] The novel also includes a bibliography referencing a number of works which provide background and connections for the rest of the novel.^[4]

The novel's narratives that rotate between both the present and flashbacks narratives from each of the main characters. The novel also introduces characters from The Needle's Eye.^[3]

Reviews

New York Times reviewer Linda Simon was disappointed with the novel, writing "intellectually stimulating and, as we might expect from Ms. Drabble, very smart. But ideas do not make a novel. Characters do."^[3] Publishers Weekly describes the novel as "command[ing] awe even as [Drabble's] subject matter rouses immeasurable stores of pity and terror."^[5]

References

↑ Sutherland, John (5 December 1991). "Drabble's Progress". London Review of Books. p. 18. ISSN 0260-9592. Archived from the original on 21 August 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
↑ Prusse, Michael C. (2003). British and Irish Novelists Since 1960. Detroit, Michigan: Gale. ISBN 978-0-7876-6015-4.
1 2 3 Simon, Linda (10 May 1992). "Rambo, Rimbaud, Which Is Best?". The New York Times Books. Archived from the original on 21 August 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
↑ Annan, Gabriele. "Numbers Game". The New York Review of Books. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
↑ "Fiction Book Review: The Gates of Ivory by Margaret Drabble". PublishersWeekly.com. Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016.

v t e Works by Margaret Drabble
Novels	A Summer Bird-Cage (1963) The Garrick Year (1964) The Millstone (1965) Jerusalem the Golden (1967) The Waterfall (1969) The Needle's Eye (1972) The Realms of Gold (1975) The Ice Age (1977) The Middle Ground (1980) The Radiant Way (1987) A Natural Curiosity (1989) The Gates of Ivory (1991) The Witch of Exmoor (1996) The Peppered Moth (2001) The Seven Sisters (2002) The Red Queen (2004) The Sea Lady (2006) The Pure Gold Baby (2013) The Dark Flood Rises (2016)
With others	London Consequences (1972)
As editor	The Oxford Companion to English Literature (1985, 2000)

This article about a 1990s novel is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information.

See guidelines for writing about novels. Further suggestions might be found on the article's talk page.

This article about a postmodern novel is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information.

See guidelines for writing about novels. Further suggestions might be found on the article's talk page.

Related Articles