The Bolter

By: Frances Osborne

Narrated by: Susan Duerden

Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

Good story but annoying narration

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.

A Scandalous Woman…

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 sad story very well told.

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

Interesting Story Strange Narration

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.

A woman like no other …

Sadly my first review of this fascinating book was rejected. I had no idea you could not link to an external site. Sadly it was just some external pictures of the memorable ‘Clouds’ house on Flicker. Lesson learned.

What is there to say about a great granddaughter finding out about the immoral and yet ever-so vivacious relative from the turn of the 20th century? Quite a lot based on this great book. It is a well written and absorbing book that details Idina Sackville and her associates of the “Happy Valley Set” in the Aberdare Hills of Kenya.

Some would say that Idina Sackville was simply a “tart” of her age. But that would be inaccurate! She was a liberator of all women with an appetite for the opposite sex. She lived her life as she willed it – sometimes in utter exuberance and sometimes in utter sadness. She lived in a romantic age of strict morals and etiquette but she chose to break most of those along the way. She showed her liberating manner by bolting from a number of her five marriages whilst throwing partner swapping soirees. Most of these are well explained throughout the book.

Sadly, she never achieved lifelong happiness. But she dies in her country of love, Kenya. I loved her life and her adventurous spirit. Great book.

Could not finish

The ENTIRE book is read like the evening news. The storyline probably would have been tolerable, maybe even interesting if the narrator had any feeling at all.

When being bad is no good

What would have made The Bolter better?

I agree with the reviewers who said that, while well-researched, the author makes interesting material tedious. I am a fan of The Bolter a la Nancy Mitford and have loved reading about Beryl Markham, the Mitfords, etc. so I thought this book would be a no-miss for me. Oy. So dull. Like reading a laundry list of bad behavior.

Has The Bolter turned you off from other books in this genre?

No. It has given me an appreciation for those who make the genre come alive.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Susan Duerden?

This is going to sound out there but someone like Davina Porter, who does the Outlander books, might have helped this book come alive. Susan Duerden has wonderful diction but her sing song delivery adds to the soporific quality of the whole experience.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

This book ended up depressing me to the point where I had to stop listening. No wonder so many of the Happy Valley set met tragic ends. After listening to most of the book, morphine starts to sound like a good idea.

Narration Ruins a Mediocre Book

The pompous and aloof tone just does not engage with the story. At times the narrator seems to be almost moving the text she is reading.