Review: The Bolter by Frances Osborne

Synopsis:

On Friday 25th May, 1934, a forty-one-year-old woman walked into the lobby of Claridge's Hotel to meet the nineteen-year-old son whose face she did not know. Fifteen years earlier, as the First World War ended, Idina Sackville shocked high society by leaving his multimillionaire father to run off to Africa with a near penniless man. An inspiration for Nancy Mitford's character The Bolter, painted by William Orpen, and photographed by Cecil Beaton, Sackville went on to divorce a total of five times, yet died with a picture of her first love by her bed. Her struggle to reinvent her life with each new marriage left one husband murdered and branded her the 'high priestess' of White Mischief's bed-hopping Happy Valley in Kenya. Sackville's life was so scandalous that it was kept a secret from her great-granddaughter Frances Osborne. Now, Osborne tells the moving tale of betrayal and heartbreak behind Sackville's road to scandal and return, painting a dazzling portrait of high society in the early twentieth century.

Review Number 1 - 30th - 31st October 2011:
Interesting story of a woman who was obviously ahead of the time she lived in. A woman - who rightly or wrongly - acted according to her own free will and refused to be constrained by the mores of the time. Notorious or notable - or both.

Update - 20th November 2014: 
I have just finished this book for the second time (19th November 2014). I am still held in the grip of this fascinating woman's personality and character. Even the second time round I am still feeling some empathy with Idina, despite the heartbreaking choices that she made in her married life, and despite some of the choices she made thereafter.

Book 1 deals with Idina's early life, her childhood and her first marriage and its subsequent breakdown. The Second Book deals with Idina's life in Kenya and her next set of marriages - making it five in total - and five divorces (we don't count her many, many lovers).

The 1920s and 1940s were a somewhat liberating time for women - many deciding to break free from the constricting structure of Edwardian life in England, and following their own path - sometimes towards happiness, sometimes towards self destruction.

The author Frances Osborne is the great-granddaughter of Idina - a woman not mentioned in family circles and one who was not regarded as a role-model. The author takes us through her own journey of discovery and presents for us a woman with all her foibles, a woman of strength and frailty, a woman not of her times, a woman who draws us back into her web and keeps us within her grip as her life unfolds before us.

Read this in conjunction with Paul Spicer's "The Temptress" and James Fox's "White Mischief".

November Additions To The Library

November is now here and with a lovely gift voucher from my online book shop, here are the additions to the Library for November:

The Borgias: A Hidden History by G.J. Meyer

The startling truth behind one of the most notorious dynasties in history is revealed in a remarkable new account by the acclaimed author of "The Tudors" and "A World Undone." 

Lucretia Borgia: An Exceptional and Notorious Woman of the Renaissance Papacy by Ferdinand Gregorovius

A legend of beauty and seduction The very name of Lucrezia Borgia remains, some 500 years after her time, enough to send a frisson of a thrill down the spine-particularly of men! The Lucrezia of legend has become an archetypal 'femme fatale'-beautiful, seductive and potentially deadly. 

Late Merovingian France: History and Hagiography, 640-720 edited & translated by Richard A. Gerberding

This collection of documents in translation brings together the seminal sources for the late Merovingian Frankish kingdom. 

The Welsh Kings: Warriors, Warlords and Princes by  K. L. Maund

When Edward I's troops forced the destruction of Dafydd ap Gruffudd in 1283 they brought to an end the line of truly independent native rulers in Wales that had endured throughout recorded history. In the early middle ages Wales was composed of a variety of independent kingdoms with varying degrees of power, influence and stability, each ruled by proud and obdurate lineages. 

Kingdom and People of Kent: Their History and Archaeology by Sue Harrington and Stuart Brookes

The Kingdom and People of Kent

Northumbria: The Lost Kingdom by Paul Gething and Edoardo Albert

Northumbria was one of the great kingdoms of Britain in the Dark Ages, enduring longer than the Roman Empire. Yet it has been all but forgotten. This book puts Northumbria back in its rightful place, at the heart of British history.

The Death of Kings: A Medical History of the Kings and Queens of England by Clifford Brewer

Distinguished surgeon Clifford Brewer T.D F.R.C.S. has made the death of kings the study of a life time, examining every act of violence and each unpleasant disease with a razor sharp eye for detail. 

The Gourmet Farmer Deli Book by Matthew Evans, Ross O'Meara and Nick Haddow

Matthew Evans brings us a beautifully photographed new book celebrating the way we used to cook food and how it used to taste.

Happy reading!

Additions For October

August's books arrived safe and sound in September so here is the order for October:

• Absolute Power: The Real Lives of Europe's Most Infamous Rulers by Chad Denton
• Joan of Arc: By Herself and Her Witnesses by Régine Pernoud
• The Retrial of Joan of Arc: The Evidence for Her Vindication by Regine Pernoud
• The Templars: Knights of Christ by Regine Pernoud
• Defending the City of God: A Medieval Queen, the First Crusades, and the Quest for Peace in Jerusalem by Sharan Newman
• Mediaeval Prince of Wales: Life of Gruffudd Ap Cynan by Simon D Evans
• Lost Capital of Byzantium: The History of Mistra and the Peloponnese by Steven Runciman
• The King in the North: The Life and Times of Oswald of Northumbria by Max Adams
• The Last Templar: The Tragedy of Jacques De Molay, Last Grand Master of the Temple by Alain Demurger
• The Northern Earldoms: Orkney and Caithness from AD 870 to 1470 by Barbara Crawford

A number of these books I have read in the past but have never before added to my own personal library - until now.

Autumn Additions

Well, it is autumn in the land down under, and the order for August has been submitted - albeit rather late in the season.  So here is the bag of bargains heading south over the next week or so:

The Northern Crusades by Eric Christiansen

The 'Northern Crusades', inspired by the Pope's call for a Holy War, are less celebrated than those in the Middle East, but they were also more successful: vast new territories became and remain Christian, such as Finland, Estonia and Prussia. Newly revised in the light of the recent developments in Baltic and Northern medieval research, this authoritative overview provides a balanced and compelling account of a tumultuous era. 

Duchessina: A Novel of Catherine de Medici by Carolyn Meyer

Young Catherine de' Medici is the sole heiress to the entire fortune of the wealthy Medici family, but her life is far from luxurious. This novel chronicles the life of a young woman who becomes one of France's most powerful queens. Includes a family tree.

Fideles Crusis: Papacy, the West & the Recovery if the Holy Land 1274 - 1314 by Sylvia Schlein

Schein challenges the view that the fall of Acre in 1291 was a watershed dividing the "classical age" of the crusade from the late Middle Ages, when the ideal had become sterile, the obsessive dream of a handful of individuals. She shows instead that the desire to recover the Holy Land remained powerful and pervasive, and was an important consideration in the policy-making of European rulers.

Princesses of Wales by Deborah Fisher

This exciting new Pocket Guide offers an in-depth discussion of the developing role of Princess of Wales, through an account of the lives of those who have held the title. 

Blood & Beauty: The Borgias by Sarah Dunant

Stripping away the myths around the Borgias, "Blood & Beauty" is a majestic novel that breathes life into this astonishing family and celebrates the raw power of history itself: compelling, complex and relentless. 

The Borgias by Michael Mallett

Fact is deftly sorted from fiction in this description of the incredible rise of the Borgias from obscurity to the very center of the Renaissance.

Lucrezia Borgia by John Faunce

“A fascinating story, rich in detail. In every case, Faunce portrays [Lucrezia] believably, with wit and sensitivity.”--Library Journal Hundreds of years after her death, Lucrezia Borgia remains one of the most enigmatic and notorious women of history.

Margeret of York, the Diabolical Duchess: The Woman Who Tried To Overthrow The Tudors by Christine Weightman

The amazing life of Margaret of York, the woman who tried to overthrow the Tudors.

Anne Neville, Richard III's Tragic Queen: The Real Story of the Kingmaker's Daughter by Amy Licence

Amy Licence reassesses the longstanding myths about Anne's role, her health and her marriages, to present a new view of the Kingmaker's daughter.

Lucrezia Borgia: The Life of the Pope's Daughter in the Renaissance by Maike Vogt-Luerssen (trans: Dr Holger M Luerssen)

This biography will reveal the true Lucrezia Borgia. It is an unfortunate reality that many descriptions of the life of the Pope's daughter and her family are based on malicious rumours by her opponents and sensationalist historians of the 16th century.

The Borgias: History'a Most Notorious Dynasty by Mary Hollingsworth

Mary Hollingsworth's account of the dynasty's dramatic rise from its Spanish roots to the heights of Renaissance society forms a compelling tale of brutality, incest, unparalleled corruption and extortionate greed.

Owain Gwynedd: Prince of the Welsh by Roger Turvey

A study of the life and career of Owain Gwynedd (c. 1100-70), who played a dominant role in the history of Wales before her conquest. He was king of Gwynedd from 1137 until his death, and was the first to be styled Prince of Wales. He was considered the most successful of all the north Welsh princes prior to his grandson Llywelyn the Great.

Daughter of Heaven: the True Story of the Only Woman to Become Emperor of China by Nigel Cawthorne

In this sensational true story, bestselling author Nigel Cawthorne reveals the dark and dramatic story of the only woman ever to rule China, Wu Chao: concubine, manipulator, politician, murderer, Emperor. From her instruction in the art of love by palace officials, to her eventual sticky end, this book opens a window into the colourful world of Tang Dynasty in China - a world of sex and of power. 

On the Trail of the Real Macbeth, King of Alba by Cameron Taylor & Alistair Murray

Travel what is now Scotland with a touring itinerary as you follow "On the Trail of the Real Macbeth, King of Alba".

A rather interesting collection of known and lesser known titles - all reasonably priced (lets face it - cheap!) which is why they have found their way into the Library.

Miniature Books

Following on from this article in the LA Times:

In 1829-30, Charlotte Brontë was 13 and her brother Branwell Brontë 12. Creating fantasy worlds they called Angria and Glass Town, the siblings made teeny tiny books. 

Measuring less than 1 inch by 2 inches,  the books were made from scraps of paper and constructed by hand. Despite their diminutive size, the books contained big adventures, written in ink in careful script. 

Twenty books, all by Charlotte and Branwell, remain. Similar books created by the other sisters, Anne and Emily, did not survive. Nine of the existing books, known as Bronte juvenalia, are in the collection at the Houghton Library at Harvard University.

Here are my miniature books that I have had since I was quite small - although the plastic case in which they originally came is now long lost, the books themselves are in very good condition.  All are beautifully illustrated, published by Merrimack Publishing Group and printed in Hong Kong - though no other details, including the year of printing, is available.

Women of the World

 

The following is part of a review by John Gallagher of the Telegraph of Helen McCarthy's book Women of the World: The Rise of the Female Diplomat.

Women’s involvement in global politics is nothing new. Elizabeth I’s ladies-in-waiting were adept in international intrigue; Mary Wortley Montagu penned dispatches from the 18th-century Ottoman harem; and one could even argue that the biblical Judith’s decapitation of Holofernes was early proof of women’s aptitude for cutthroat diplomacy.

But in Britain, women’s entry into the diplomatic service was approved only in 1946, 30 years after they had won the vote, and long after the rest of the civil service. In this carefully researched, stylishly written and highly entertaining history, Helen McCarthy traces the roles that women have played in British diplomacy from the 19th century onwards, and highlights the issues that bedevil their service into the present day.

The story is rich with female pioneers who proved in practice what the establishment could not accept in principle. Of course, the barriers to female progression did not fall away so quickly: in particular, the marriage bar introduced in 1946 meant that many young women had promising careers cut abruptly short. It would be 1987 before Britain named its first married female ambassador.

July Additions to the Library

Well, as mentioned in my last post, the Library is well and truly open for business, and taking in new titles. Here are some that should be arriving this month:

The First Crusade: The Call From The East by Peter Frankopan

The First Crusade is one of the best-known and most written-about events in history. This book intends to address the history of the First Crusade from the perspective of the east, examining the role of the Byzantine Empire and its ruler, Emperor Alexios I Komnenos.

(have been promising myself to get this one for some time)

The Writings of Agnes of Harcourt: The "Life of Isabelle of France" and the "Letter" on Louis IX and Longchamp trans: Sean L Field

An abbess in the Franciscan abbey of Longchamp, Agnes of Harcourt wrote a biography of Isabelle of France and a letter detailing Louis IX's involvement with the abbey, both of which provide a window on 13th-century religious life. This translation also contains an introduction to her life and work.

The Murder, Betrayal, and Slaughter of the Glorious Charles, Count of Flanders by Galbert Of Bruges, translated by Jeff Rider

The craven murder of Glorious Charles, who had no progeny and had not yet named a successor, upset the fragile balance of power between England, France and the Holy Roman Empire, giving rise to a prolonged struggle for the countship and bloody civil war while impacting the commercial life of the most prosperous regions of medieval Europe.

William Marshal: The Flower of Chivalry by Georges Duby

Recreates the life of William Marshal, the Earl of Pembroke from a thirteenth century poem and describes medieval daily life

(another one that has spent way too long on the TBR list)

The Normans by Trevor Rowley

The Normans were a relatively short-lived cultural and political phenomenon. They emerged early in the tenth century and had disappeared off the map by the mid-thirteenth century. Drawing on the archaeological and historical evidence, this title examines how the Normans were able to conquer and dominate significant parts of Europe.

The Gesta Tancredi of Ralph of Caen trans Bernard S. Bachrach and David S Bachrach

Presents a narrative of the First Crusade and its immediate aftermath, covering the period 1096-1105, but is often neglected, due in no small part to the difficulties of its Latin.

Burgundians in the Mist by Marc Comtois

A historical work focusing on the Burgundians--a Germanic people of the Late Antique/Early Medieval period--and the role they played in the transition of Western Europe in the wake of the Fall of the Rome.

Strongbow: The Norman Invasion of Ireland by Conor Kostick

The coming of the Normans to Ireland from 1169 is a pivotal moment in the country's history. It is a period full of bloodthirsty battles, both between armies and individuals. With colourful personalities and sharp political twists and turns, Strongbow's story is a fascinating one. Combining the writing style of an award-winning novelist with expert scholarship, historian Conor Kostick has written a powerful and absorbing account of the stormy affairs of an extraordinary era.

Galloglas: Hebridean and West Highland Mercenary by John Marsden

This exciting new work offers a Scottish perspective on a particularly bloody chapter of Irish history. The Galloglas were a group of mercenary warriors from Western Scotland who settled in Ireland and achieved extraordinary prominence over the next 300 years. By the 15th century they had become Ireland's first professional warrior class.

June's Books

Well, its been a while ...... quite a while since the library opened its doors for some new arrivals. But better late than never, June's order has just gone in, and here's what should be arriving before month's end:

The Third Plantagenet: George, Duke of Clarence, Richard III's Brother by John Ashdown-Hill

Less well-known than his brothers, Edward IV and Richard III, little has been written about George, Duke of Clarence, leaving us with a series of unanswered questions: What was he really like? What set him and his brother Edward IV against one another? And who was really responsible for his death? 

The Knights Templar Absolution: The Chinon Parchment and the History of the Poor Knights of Christ by A.A. Grishin

the Chinon Parchment .... Originally created in 1308, this official legal record has been recently recovered after missing for centuries. It is finally made widely available here in its original Latin with a new English translation. In the early 14th century, after a long series of defeats in the Levant, the Order was charged with heresy by King Philip IV of France. The Chinon Parchment details a crucial step in subsequent papal investigations into the Knights Templar activities.

Franks and Alamanni in the Merovingian Period: An Ethnographic Perspective edited by Ian Wood

The Alamans were early victims of post-Roman expansion of the Frankish empire. This volume considers the Franks and Alamans from a series of perspectives, historical, archaeological, and linguistic. It explores the origins of both peoples.

Owain Glyn Dwr - the Last Prince of Wales by Peter Gordon Williams

This is the compelling tale of a warrior prince and a host of other characters, ranging from his loyal bodyguard Madoc to mad King Charles of France, who influenced his life. Owain Glyn Dwr was more than a courageous and resourceful commander; he was an eminent scholar who, in the pursuit of learning and scholarship, looked beyond the boundaries of Wales.

Somerled by John Marsden

Investigates Somerled of Argyll's emergence in the forefront of the Gaelic-Norse aristocracy of the western seaboard, his part in Gaeldom's challenge to the Canmore kings of Scots, his war on the Manx king of the Isles, his importance for the church on Iona, and his invasion of the Clyde which was cut short by his death at Renfrew in 1164.

The Knight Who Saved England

For a brief period in English history, a French king was named monarch of England – this was the Dauphin Louis and the time was 1216.  It was a period of turmoil in England – King John was at odds with his powerful barons, who invited the prince to England to lay claim to the throne in 1215.  Louis duly accepted and landed in England where he was welcomed by the rebellious barons.  John had only the year before signed what is now known as the Magna Carta at Runnymede (1215).

That same year as the French prince landed to claim his throne, King John died leaving his infant son Henry as England’s next monarch.  Many of the barons in rebellion against John gave their support to the young boy-king and support for Louis fizzled but not before a small force of French under Thomas, Comte de Perche laid siege to Lincoln Castle.  The English force was led by the 70yo Earl of Pembroke – the formidable William Marshal.  The French were routed and the sack of the rebel town became known as the Battle of Lincoln Fair.

The chronicler Roger of Wendover, who wrote an account of events (Flower of History trans by JA Ggiles London 1849), said …

“This battle, which, in derision of Louis and the barons, they called “The Fair,” took place on the 19th of May, which was on the Saturday in Whitsun-week; it commenced between the first and third hour, and was finished by these good managers before the ninth.

This then is the back-drop to Richard Brooks’ book, The Knight Who Saved England.

Brooks details events in English history leading up to and including the battle of Lincoln, and in doing so, recounts important events under the Angevin kings – Henry II, Richard I and John.  We are then treated to a short history of the life of England’s pre-eminent knight, William Marshal, which is based on an epic poem written after his death in 1219 entitled “ L’Historie de Guillaume de Marechal”.  

He was "marshal and then regent of England who served four English monarchs as a royal adviser and agent and as a warrior of outstanding prowess."

Brooks pays special attention to William’s career at the tournaments and his life with Henry, the Young King of England (eldest son and heir of Henry II of England).  Brooks goes on to detail William’s long military career on battlefield and siege, and gives us an insight into the chivalric and knightly class of the period.  All of this leads us up to William’s role and leadership in the battle of Lincoln, in which we find the aged knight so eager for battle that he leaves without his helm.

Needless to say, the life and character of William Marshal is extraordinary and you will find a list of further reading at the end of Brooks’ book.

Further Reading:

A Knight’s Tale – Thomas Asbridge (http://www.thomasasbridge.com/)

William Marshal by Georges Duby (trans Richard Howard)

History of William Marshal by A J Holden

William Marshal: Knighthood, War and Chivalry, 1147-1219 by David Crouch

Magna Charta Barons, 1915. Baronial Order of Runnemede  by Charles H. Browning

William Marshal: Medieval England's Greatest Knight by Myra Weatherly

William Marshal, Knight-Errant, Baron, and Regent of England by Sidney Painter

Links

William Marshall: flower of chivalry - http://www.medievalwarfare.info/marshal.htm

William Marshall - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Marshal,_1st_Earl_of_Pembroke

Medieval English genealogy – notes on William Marshall - http://www.medievalgenealogy.org.uk/families/marshal/williammarshal.shtml

Battle of Lincoln 1217 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lincoln_(1217)

History of Eengland podcasts – William the Regent - http://historyofengland.typepad.com/blog/2012/05/60-william-the-regent.html