The Bolter Summary and Reviews

The Bolter
by Frances Osborne

The Bolter
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Book Summary Information

Author: Frances Osborne
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Format: Deckle Edge
Published: 2009-06-02
ISBN: 0307270149
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Knopf

Book Reviews of The Bolter

Book Review: Airplane Reading
Summary: 2 Stars

Frances Osborne's "The Bolter" is a diverting read, but only within the limited context of its subject matter. After all, is Idina Sackville a particularly interesting character? I think not. She struck me as a dime-a-dozen hedonist and degenerate, who managed to convince herself that her lifestyle was sophisticated and worldly, when it was in fact empty and ghastly. If she were around today, she'd be appearing in amateur porno movies and posting them on the Internet. And the same is true of the whole Happy Valley set. What base and dreary people.

If Osborne had taken a more jaundiced approach, she might have succeeded in painting a deservedly acid portrait of these upper-crust vulgarians. Instead, Osborne has allowed her blood relationship with Idina to corrupt her as a writer. Osborne's portrayal of her relative and the tiresome creeps in her orbit has been romanticized; worse -- softened, sweetened, and sentimentalized to a sickly degree. Quick, somebody, an insulin shot!

An excellent book on these delusional dolts is "White Mischief", by James Fox, which focuses on the fascinating mystery of the murder of Lord Erroll. I believe the book is out of print. A pity, because it's incomparably superior to "The Bolter".

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