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I read this after reading a novel set in Kenya's Happy Valley, in which Lady Idina made an appearance as a shocking and scandalous, but still appealing, secondary character. I was interested to know more. Idina lived a hedonistic, and fairly shallow, life. She was, though, still a charmer.
informative
sad
slow-paced
Frances Osbourne has a great knack for writing because I didn't finish this book based on the story alone. I guess I'm just getting a little beyond the whole "rich white woman delights in African mystery" theme, especially after enduring [b:Out of Africa and Shadows on the Grass|26474|Out of Africa and Shadows on the Grass|Karen Blixen|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167810664s/26474.jpg|1382759] (although I did dig the movie). I have a really hard time sympathizing with rich protagonists like Idina Sackville and I don't really understand the author's shock and indignation at Sackville's abandonment of her first two sons in England. As I understand it, most aristocratic English families at the time practiced very little hands-on parenting anyhow. As a descendant, the author is personally invested in this story but I found the tone of moral outrage throughout the book to be out of place for the historical context. Would it really have been so much more acceptable for her to have stayed in England and seen her sons several times a year on vacation from boarding school?
I think there's a more interesting story to be told with the next generation-namely how both her sons and 2 of their 3 half brothers were killed in WWII-once I saw the family tree, I couldn't get that out of my head.
I think there's a more interesting story to be told with the next generation-namely how both her sons and 2 of their 3 half brothers were killed in WWII-once I saw the family tree, I couldn't get that out of my head.
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
Ha, a review upon request. As a child, Frances Osborne read a newspaper story about Idina Sackville, known as "The Bolter" for scandalously leaving her fabulously wealthy husband and her two young sons in order to marry another man and move to Kenya, then getting married another three times and generally leading a louche lifestyle that people loved to condemn while discussing all details and rumors. Osborne was then shocked to discover that Idina was her great-grandmother. Thus started a lifetime of fascination, culminating in this book.
This was a really interesting read, and painted a surprisingly detailed portrait of a specific portion of English society--all the naughtiest bits, I suppose. I guess I am naive, but even after reading "The Perfect Summer" (Frances Osborne's book about the summer of 1911), I assumed that rampant extramarital affairs were about the limit of scandalous upper-crust sexual behavior. So wrong. This book doesn't spend excessive time detailing Idina's sexual practices, but enough that any naivete I had is thoroughly destroyed, ha.
The only thing that I think is lacking from the book is a window into what the heck Idina was thinking. Osborne speculates well, and probably accurately, on why Idina did what she did, but she understandably doesn't have a lot to work with to explain why--understandable not only because there simply weren't many sources detailing Idina's private thoughts, but because I doubt Idina knew her own motivations. In that sense, it's a very tragic book; for all Idina's fame and allure, she seems to have been profoundly lonely, and regretted the original bolting late in life. But it's a fascinating read, and not overly depressing--I definitely recommend it.
This was a really interesting read, and painted a surprisingly detailed portrait of a specific portion of English society--all the naughtiest bits, I suppose. I guess I am naive, but even after reading "The Perfect Summer" (Frances Osborne's book about the summer of 1911), I assumed that rampant extramarital affairs were about the limit of scandalous upper-crust sexual behavior. So wrong. This book doesn't spend excessive time detailing Idina's sexual practices, but enough that any naivete I had is thoroughly destroyed, ha.
The only thing that I think is lacking from the book is a window into what the heck Idina was thinking. Osborne speculates well, and probably accurately, on why Idina did what she did, but she understandably doesn't have a lot to work with to explain why--understandable not only because there simply weren't many sources detailing Idina's private thoughts, but because I doubt Idina knew her own motivations. In that sense, it's a very tragic book; for all Idina's fame and allure, she seems to have been profoundly lonely, and regretted the original bolting late in life. But it's a fascinating read, and not overly depressing--I definitely recommend it.
While the storytelling isn't great, the story of Idina Sackville's licentious life certainly is. The source material is lacking, and thus we're never really privy to Idina's interior life. I would have liked some more psychological insight or more probing analysis of this fascinating woman and the decisions she made. We're left with a more straightforward chronology and less of an insightful look into the sex lives or aristocrats. This enjoyable soapy drama leaves me wanting to know more than the book could deliver.
Fascinating... the romps of the rich a hundred years ago...
A true and revealing look into the Happy Valley Set. I felt it was researched very well.
I had never heard of Idina Sackville before our book club chose The Bolter, but what an interesting biography.
According to this book, life for the rich and famous in Europe during the 20's and 30's, and especially Idina, was filled with drinking, dancing and infidelity. Behavior then would make the affairs of U.S. politicians today seem downright puritanical.
Derived from letters and conversations with the remaining members of the family, Idina's great-granddaughter, has written a biography that gives a sympathetic view of her wild relative. I came away feeling sad for Idina. If one is to believe her great-granddaughter's account, Idina wanted nothing more than to be loved and needed. Something she felt she never completely achieved.
According to this book, life for the rich and famous in Europe during the 20's and 30's, and especially Idina, was filled with drinking, dancing and infidelity. Behavior then would make the affairs of U.S. politicians today seem downright puritanical.
Derived from letters and conversations with the remaining members of the family, Idina's great-granddaughter, has written a biography that gives a sympathetic view of her wild relative. I came away feeling sad for Idina. If one is to believe her great-granddaughter's account, Idina wanted nothing more than to be loved and needed. Something she felt she never completely achieved.
I enjoyed this book. I liked Osborne's writing style and the personal inflections she brings to her tale. She is able to inject Idina with personality but still make her sympathetic. This is a cool way to be introduced into the Happy Valley set and the scandals that occurred during that historical moment.