- Hardcover: 772 pages
- Publisher: Virago Press Ltd (Aug 24 1987)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0860689271
- ISBN-13: 978-0860689270
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 14.8 x 5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 998 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,515,157 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
Review
'Shades of Edith Wharton, Willa Cather, Ivy Compton Burnett. A very gifted writer of fiction' -- GAY TIMES
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Book Description
In 1860, as an unmarried girl of 17, Lady Slane nurtures a secret burning ambition--to become an artist. She becomes, instead, the wife of a great statesman and the mother of six children. Seventy years later, how a widow, she retires to a tiny house in Hampstead and recollects the dreams of youth, and enjoys the mellow present in the company of those she has chosen.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
HENRY LYULP HOLLAND, first Earl of Slane, had existed for so long that the public had begun to regard him as immortal. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
HENRY LYULP HOLLAND, first Earl of Slane, had existed for so long that the public had begun to regard him as immortal. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply beautiful,
This gorgeous novel reflects many of the ideas found in "A Room Of One's Own" by Virginia Woolf, with whom Vita had a famous affair. After the death of her husband, the Earl of Slane, Lady Slane shocks her staid family by asserting her own will, leaving the house she kept with her husband, and settling into a small house in the countryside. Finally after seventy years, Lady Slane is determined to live as she chooses, with a life full of contemplation, dreams, and memories. She reflects on her lost ambition to be a painter, but knows that the life she lived was not without merit or value. She finds passion in the freedom to choose, and this gift she bequeaths to the one member of her family who understands its importance.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Memorable and touching,
By kennedy19 "kennedy19" (wakefield, ma USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: All Passion Spent (Paperback)
This curiously overlooked novel was revived by a Masterpiece Theater production starring Dame Wendy Hiller, which like this novel was superb. The gentle story of an elderly woman's retirement while her forceful children squabble over unimportant matters is at once comic and poignant. The author has peppered the tale with curious, memorable characters, among them the eccentric art collector who is allowed to eat in portrait galleries because museums hope he will donate to them when he dies; the benign landlord Bucktrout, who sees Lady Slain's desire for peace at home; and the coffin maker who pictures people dead to reveal their true characters. This fine little masterpiece deserves to be read today.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A elegant, perceptive, polished gem of a book,
By A Customer
This review is from: All Passion Spent (Paperback)
How effortlessly Ms. Sackville-West spins her surprisingly moving story of an aging aristocrat who, near the end of her life, decides to do those things she could never do before as she sublimated herself to her strong, successful and controlling husband. This classic British diplomat, who expected to be obeyed because such were the times, was, after all, so much more important than she was and what an interesting life she had in his shadow, didn't she - so conscientious and such a good wife and mother. What she does when he dies, how she perceives her existence and her place in her family - and how they respond - will catch you up in its wake and carry you to the ending, which is perfect and thus bittersweet. I found this a memorable novella.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
