Abstract: An important cultural icon of England, the garden is a central image in A. S. Byatt's novel, The Virgin in the Garden. Previous studies have noted the intertextuality between this novel and some classic works of garden literature, with a particular focus on the garden as a symbol of femininity, but they have largely ignored the connection between the writing about garden in the novel and community building. If we explore the novel in the context of England's own traditional culture of garden, or its traditional imagination of the community within “the Garden of England” in particular, we may discover the complex connotations of the garden image in the novel. While depicting “the Merry England” as a classic vision of “utopia,” the novel discloses not only anxieties over culture and environment, but also a hope that lurks underneath, namely, a hope to confront the community crisis with tolerance and open-mindedness, and to revive “the Garden of England” through a deep connection between historical traditions and genius loci.

Key words: Byatt, The Virgin in the Garden, garden, anxiety, community