In the form of two linked novellas, Byatt explores the background to Tennyson's poetic series 'In Memoriam', and also tells the story of how a passion for entomological travel and scientific discovery combines with the daily rituals of wealthy family life. As with all of Byatt's writing, there is strong physical sense of setting. The first piece, Morpho Eugenia, is a Gothic fable of the Earthly Paradise; The Conjugal Angel, a philosophical ghost story.