Items related to The Mad Boy, Lord Berners, My Grandmother And Me
Synopsis
Physical description; xi, 436 pages : illustrations (some colour) ; 24 cm. Subjects; Berners, Gerald Hugh Tyrwhitt-Wilson Baron 1883-1950 - Relations with men. Berners, Gerald Hugh Tyrwhitt-Wilson Baron 1883-1950 - Homes and haunts - England - Faringdon. Heber-Percy, Robert 1911-1987 - Homes and haunts - England - Faringdon. Zinovieff, Sofka - Family.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
From the Back Cover
Like The Bolter and Portrait of a Marriage, this beguiling, heady tale of a scandalous ménage à trois among England's upper classes combines memoir and biography to re-create an unforgettably decadent world.
Among the glittering stars of British society, Sofka Zinovieff's grandparents lived and loved with abandon. Robert Heber-Percy was a dashing young man who would rather have a drink than open a book, so his involvement with Jennifer Fry, a gorgeous socialite famous for her style and charm, was not surprising. But by the time Robert met and married Jennifer, he had already been involved with a man—Gerald, Lord Berners—for more than a decade.
Stout, eccentric and significantly older, Gerald was a composer, writer and aesthete—a creative aristocrat most at home in the company of the era's best and brightest minds. He also owned one of Britain's loveliest stately homes, Faringdon House, in Oxfordshire, which under his stewardship became a beacon of sybaritic beauty. Robert and Gerald made an unlikely couple, especially because they lived together at Faringdon House when homosexuality was illegal. And then a pregnant Jennifer moved into Faringdon in 1942, creating a formidable ménage à trois.
In this gorgeous, entertaining narrative of bohemian aristocracy, Sofka Zinovieff probes the mysteries of her grandparents and the third man in their marriage: Gerald, the complex and talented heir to a legendary house, its walls lined with priceless art and its gardens roamed by a bevy of doves, where he entertained everyone from Igor Stravinsky to Gertrude Stein. What brought Robert and Jennifer together under his roof, and why did Jennifer stay—and marry Robert?
Blending memoir and biography in her quest to lay old ghosts to rest, Zinovieff pieces together the complicated reality behind the scandals of revelry and sexuality. The resulting story, defined by keen insight, deep affection and marvelous wit, captures the glory and indulgence of the age, and explores the many ways in which we have the capacity to love.
About the Author
Sofka Zinovieff was born in London in 1961. She studied social anthropology at Cambridge and is the author of three previous books—Eurydice Street: A Place in Athens; Red Princess: A Revolutionary Life; and The House on Paradise Street. She lives with her husband and daughters at Faringdon.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherJonathan Cape
- Publication date2014
- ISBN 10 0224096591
- ISBN 13 9780224096591
- BindingHardcover
- Edition number1
- Number of pages436
- Rating
Buy Used
Condition: Very GoodThe Mad Boy, Lord Berners, My Grandmother... Learn more about this copy
US$ 5.70
Shipping:
US$ 6.66
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Other Popular Editions of the Same Title
Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace
Stock Image
The Mad Boy, Lord Berners, My Grandmother And Me
Seller: AwesomeBooks, Wallingford, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. The Mad Boy, Lord Berners, My Grandmother And Me This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. Seller Inventory # 7719-9780224096591
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The Mad Boy, Lord Berners, My Grandmother And Me
Published by
Vintage Publishing, United Kingdom, London, 2014
ISBN 10: 0224096591
ISBN 13: 9780224096591
Used
Paperback
Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Faringdon House in Oxfordshire was the home of Lord Berners, composer, writer, painter, friend of Stravinsky and Gertrude Stein, a man renowned for his eccentricity masks, practical jokes, a flock of multi-coloured doves and his homosexuality. Before the war he made Faringdon an aesthetes paradise, where exquisite food was served to many of the great minds, beauties and wits of the day. Since the early thirties his companion there was Robert Heber-Percy, twenty-eight years his junior, wildly physical, unscholarly, a hothead who rode naked through the grounds, loved cocktails and nightclubs, and was known to all as the Mad Boy. If the two men made an unlikely couple, at a time when homosexuality was illegal, the addition to the household in 1942 of a pregnant Jennifer Fry, a high society girl known to be fast, as Roberts wife was simply astounding. After Victoria was born the marriage soon foundered (Jennifer later married Alan Ross). Berners died in 1950, leaving Robert in charge of Faringdon, aided by a ferocious Austrian housekeeper who strove to keep the same culinary standards in a more austere age. This was the world Sofka Zinovieff, Victorias daughter, a typical child of the sixties, first encountered at the age of seventeen. Eight years later, to her astonishment, Robert told her he was leaving her Faringdon House. Her book about Faringdon and its people is marvellously witty and full of insight, bringing to life a vanished world and the almost fantastical people who lived in it. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR006349762
Quantity: 6 available
Stock Image
The Mad Boy, Lord Berners, My Grandmother And Me
Seller: Bahamut Media, Reading, United Kingdom
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. Seller Inventory # 6545-9780224096591
Quantity: 1 available
Seller Image
The Mad Boy, Lord Berners, My Grandmother And Me
Seller: WeBuyBooks, Rossendale, LANCS, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Most items will be dispatched the same or the next working day. Ex library copy with usual stamps & stickers. Seller Inventory # wbs1728827706
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The Mad Boy, Lord Berners, My Grandmother And Me
Seller: medimops, Berlin, Germany
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: good. Befriedigend/Good: Durchschnittlich erhaltenes Buch bzw. Schutzumschlag mit Gebrauchsspuren, aber vollständigen Seiten. / Describes the average WORN book or dust jacket that has all the pages present. Seller Inventory # M00224096591-G
Quantity: 1 available
Seller Image
The Mad Boy, Lord Berners, My Grandmother And Me
Seller: WeBuyBooks, Rossendale, LANCS, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: LikeNew. Most items will be dispatched the same or the next working day. Seller Inventory # wbs9689769174
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The Mad Boy, Lord Berners, My Grandmother And Me
Seller: Book Deals, Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Fair. Acceptable/Fair condition. Book is worn, but the pages are complete, and the text is legible. Has wear to binding and pages, may be ex-library. 3.04. Seller Inventory # 353-0224096591-acp
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The Mad Boy, Lord Berners, My Grandmother And Me
Seller: Books Unplugged, Amherst, NY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Buy with confidence! Book is in good condition with minor wear to the pages, binding, and minor marks within 3.04. Seller Inventory # bk0224096591xvz189zvxgdd
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
the Mad Boy, Lord Berners, My Grandmother and Me
Published by
Jonathan Cape, London, 2014
ISBN 10: 0224096591
ISBN 13: 9780224096591
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Ann Open Book, Lansing, MI, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: USED_VERYGOOD. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. Seller Inventory # 189169
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
The Mad Boy, Lord Berners, My Grandmother And Me
Published by
Jonathan Cape, 2014
ISBN 10: 0224096591
ISBN 13: 9780224096591
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Cotswold Rare Books, OXFORDSHIRE, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: As New. Dust Jacket Condition: As New. 1st Edition. Unused copy. Seller Inventory # B898
Quantity: 1 available