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The Bolter

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The Bolter

By: Frances Osborne
Narrated by: Susan Duerden
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Buy for $20.71

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A San Francisco Chronicle 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 - Idina Sackville was the most celebrated of them all. Her 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.

©2008 Frances Osborne (P)2013 Audible, Inc. Biographies & Memoirs Women Great Britain 20th Century Modern Africa Entertainment & Celebrities World Europe
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Story is very interesting but narrator used odd voices when quoting different people. Found myself cringing when I knew one of the quotes was coming.

Good story but annoying narration

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Really enjoyed this book. Extremely well researched. Learned a great deal about colonial Kenya, WWI & WWII. Highly recommend.

A sad story very well told.

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I’m forever intrigued by proper British women, especially aristocratic ones, that go off the rails into a cloud of scandal. Idina Sackville is one of these women. She was of the transitional generation born in the twilight years of the Victorian age and growing up in a rapidly changing world. Yet she was expected to maintain the status quo when it came to love and marriage. She chose the unconventional path and as a result, lived an adventurous but tragic life. Her life dissolves into marriage after marriage (and affair after affair), and at times, this can become a bit boring. Idina gathered a cast of characters about her and i enjoyed learning about some of them (including ones just as scandalous, if not more than Idina herself), but it became a bit difficult to keep up, especially with the British tendency to bestow odd nicknames.

Given that the book was written by Idina’s great granddaughter, I sometimes felt that she was smoothing over or apologizing for family dynamics. For instance, the concocted story about why her step great grandmother failed to leave the family estate to her step granddaughters—because it was cursed? Um,no. I think the woman was just mean….which is hilarious given the drama she created. What struck me was the sense that even though Idina lost everything, gained it back, and then lost it again, she never became angry or bitter. An extraordinary feat for a woman who decided to march to the beat of her own drum.

A Scandalous Woman…

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The story itself is interesting. It does gloss over a fair bit. I would have liked the fact that it was written by a descendant to have been brought up more often to keep things in context. Overall I enjoyed it very much.

The narrator YELLED when she spoke as a character. It didn’t stop until the end of the story. It was very jarring. I almost couldn’t couldn’t continue listening but I’m glad I stuck it out. The story was worth the pain.

Interesting Story Strange Narration

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Really liked how well researched this book was. Idina’s life was richly drawn. Sometimes the details of her homes and dress got a little tedious but most of them were appropriately interesting.

Fascinating story

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