The Bolter: The Story of Idina Sackville, Who Ran Away to Become the Chief Seductress of Kenya's Scandalous Happy Valley Set (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780307476425)

NATIONAL BESTSELLER - A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR - AN O, THE OPRAH MAGAZINE #1 TERRIFIC READ - In an age of bolters--women who broke the rules and fled their marriages--one woman was the most celebrated of them all. - "Even today Lady Idina Sackville could get tongues wagging."--NPR

"Sackville's passion lights up the page." --Entertainment Weekly - An engaging, definitive final look back at those naughty people who, between the wars, took their bad behavior off to Kenya and whose upper-class delinquency became gilded with unjustified glamour." --Financial Times - "Intoxicating." --People

Idina Sackville's relentless affairs, wild sex parties, and brazen flaunting of convention shocked high society and inspired countless writers and artists, from Nancy Mitford to Greta Garbo. But Idina's compelling charm masked the pain of betrayal and heartbreak.

Now Frances Osborne explores the life of Idina, her enigmatic great-grandmother, using letters, diaries, and family legend, following her from Edwardian London to the hills of Kenya, where she reigned over the scandalous antics of the "Happy Valley Set." Dazzlingly chic yet warmly intimate, The Bolter is a fascinating look at a woman whose energy still burns bright almost a century later.

Author: Frances Osborne
ISBN-10: 0307476421
ISBN-13: 9780307476425
Publisher: Vintage
Language: English
Published: 05/04/2010
Pages: 368
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.75lbs
Size: 8.14h x 5.30w x 0.76d

Review Citation(s):
New York Times Book Review 06/13/2010 pg. 28