Tuesday, June 9, 2009

A Biography to Watch For




I have been reading a book called The Bolter. The author is Frances Osborne who is the great-grand daughter of Idina Sackville and her biography is amazing. I wanted to share a little of the write up from the jacket until I write my review since I have been stuck in my chair since I opened the book. It's so fascinating.

The front cover reads:

The story of the wild, beautiful, fearless IDINA SACKVILLE, descendant of one of England's oldest families, who went off to KENYA in search of adventure and became known as the high priestess of the scandalous "Happy Valley Set"


Juat to give you an idea..on the back jacket it reads:

British society may have adored eccentrics whose differences celebrated the values they cherished, but it did not embrace those who upset the order of things. And in 1918, just after the Armistice was signed, Idina Sackville bloted from her life in England and, setting out with her second husband, headed for Mombasa, in seaarch of new adventure. A parade of lovers, a murdered husbanc, chaos everywhere-as her madcap world of excess darkened and crumbled around her.


Published in 2008 by Alfred Knoff it contains 65 photographs that adds visual clarity and welcomed details. If you like a great biography, this unusual woman's life story is a must read.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love biographies that have lots of photos - that's why I don't like to get the audiotape versions. Somehow you need to see those pictures to understand the person! This one sounds wonderful!

serendipity_viv said...

I love to read about these eccentric people who go off and do things that are so next expected of them. The way society frowns on them and they take it with a pinch of salt.

The Book Resort said...

Wow, that sounds like an adventure & a 1/2!

The Book Resort said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
The Book Resort said...

This is for you, my friend! Enjoy!
http://thebookresort.blogspot.com/2009/06/im-enchanting.html

Ladytink_534 said...

Wow! Unusual is right! How did I miss hearing about her?

Jenny Girl said...

This is right up my alley. I just started to enjoy some biographies. It depends on the person. Thanks for the tip.