When A.S. Byatt won the Blue Metropolis Prize in Montreal, she needed a consort. I volunteered, and was thrilled to spend time with one of the best writers of the 20th century. Erudite and kind, she was amazing company. I provided some notes for her retelling of the myth of Ragnarok: The End of the Gods. What a singular honour it was to count her as a friend, and what an amazing legacy she left to the world. I always loved how when people told her that they loved Possession, she would say, “Well, my other books are much, much better.” She wasn’t wrong. Her books encapsulate entire worlds, and I recommend starting with the first and reading them all. I am particularly fond of The Children’s Book. She and I also connected over the fact that I was baptized into the Church of Emmanuel Swedenborg, a subject that she wrote about in one of the parts of Angels and Insects. She also championed great writers, Tom McCarthy among them.