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Idina Sackville – the 1920’s style icon and seductress who ‘Taylor Swift fans think “The Bolter” could be inspired by’ Bustle
In 1934 Idina Sackville met the son she had last seen fifteen years earlier when she shocked high society by running off to Africa with a near-penniless man, abandoning him, his brother and their father. So scandalous was Idina’s life – she was said to have had ‘lovers without number’ – that it was kept a secret from her great-granddaughter, Frances Osborne. Now Osborne explores her moving tale of betrayal and heartbreak.
‘A corker of a subject… probably inspired The Bolter in Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love… A breakneck-paced, thoroughly diverting story’ THE TIMES
‘A tragic and deeply moving tale… far more gripping than any novel I have read for years’ ANTONY BEEVOR
‘Frances Osborne has brilliantly captured not only one woman’s life but an entire lost society’ AMANDA FOREMAN
‘An enthralling account of a dazzling, troubled life’ JULIAN FELLOWES
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Reviews
Truly interesting. Osborne paints an enthralling portrait of upper-class English life just before, during and immediately after the Great War. Frivolous, rich, sexy, [and] achingly fashionable
A rumbustious and harrowing biography that takes us from London to Newport to Kenya... A feast for the Anglophile
A bewitching character brilliantly painted
The Bolter is a biographical treat
Rich, title, witty, beguiling, Lady Idina Sackville had all the gifts, except, perhaps, judgement. Frances Osborne has written an enthralling account of a dazzling, troubled, life.
Osborne unearthed the moving truth behind the headlines. It's a melancholy, vivid portrait of a lost lady and her troubled world
[Idina Sackville's] life story, speckled with the names of the rich and famous, is a miniature history lesson, bringing into sharp focus both world wars, the Jazz Age, and the colonization of Kenya. . . . Sackville's passion lights up the page
A superb portrait of an astonishing woman and her times
Osborne has written an engaging book, drawing a revealing portrait of a remarkable woman and adding humanity to her 'scandalous' life... And what a life it was
** 'On the literary pages, the wife of current shadow chancellor George Osborne, Frances, stepped into the limelight, as her new book, The Bolter, attracted the most reviews
Rich, title, witty, beguiling, Lady Idina Sackville had all the gifts, except, perhaps, judgement. Frances Osborne has written an enthralling account of a dazzling, troubled, life
Osborne is a graceful writer, excellent at evoking the atmosphere of London during the First World War and Happy Valley in the Twenties. Her judgement is pitch-perfect, never letting Idina off the hook but at the same time sympathetic towards her, and she skilfully captures the myriad twists and turns of a turbulent life
Osborne has had, as you would expect a family member, unprecedented access to Sackville's diaries - and those of most of her husbands
A vivid portrait of her scandalous ancestor and her relationships with family members, while conjuring a vanished world with novelistic detail and flair
A wonderfully engaging book which combines the tingling immediacy of the best kind of history with the stay-up-till-3am-to-finish-it urgency of a bestseller
If notorious relatives make for the best dinner-party anecdotes, then Frances Osborne should be able to dine out for decades.... Enthralling
An engaging book and a definitive final look back at those naughty people who, between the wars, took their bad behaviour off to Kenya and whose upper-class delinquency became gilded with unjustified glamour
Passionate and headstrong, Lady Idina was determined to be free even if the cost was scandal and ruin. Frances Osborne has brilliantly captured not only one woman's life but an entire lost society.
Frances Osborne has produced a racy romp underpinned by some impressive research. She understands the period and the world she describes
Passionate and headstrong, Lady Idina was determined to be free even if the cost was scandal and ruin. Frances Osborne has brilliantly captured not only one woman's life but an entire lost society
A corker of a subject. Idina's behaviour... probably inspired The Bolter in Nancy Mitford's The Pursuit of Love. Osborne's richly wrought descriptions of glittering Paris nights and lush mountainous landscapes of Kenya's Happy Valley are fabulous... A breakneck-paced, thoroughly diverting story
Osborne is an imaginative scene painter... Idina wasn't admirable, but Osborne makes us sympathise with her
Osborne's lively narrative brings Lady Idina Sackville boldly to life. . . the text, most lyrical when describing the landscapes around Idina's African residences, proves than an adventurous spirit continues to run in this fascinating family
Fascinating... beautifully written... Frances Osborne brings the decadence of Britain's dying aristocracy vividly to life in this story of scandal and heartbreak
The Bolter is the real Idina's story told by her great-grand-daughter Frances Osborne. It whirls the reader through the London social scene during the First World War and the decadence of Kenya's Happy Valley via Idina's five marriages and innumerable love affairs. I loved it.
A tragic and deeply moving tale... far more gripping than any novel I have read for years