The bolter cover

The bolter

by Frances Osborne

"An inspiration for Nancy Micford's character The Bolter, painted by William Orpen, a muse for the fashion designer Molyneux and phorographed by Cecil Beaton, Idina Sackville went on to divorce a total of five times, yet died with a photograph of her first love by her bed. Her struggle to reinvent her life with each new marriage left one husband murdered and branded her the 'high priestess' of White Mischief's bed-hopping Happy Valley in Kenya. She became renowned for her powers as a seductress and was rumoured to have had 'lovers without number'." "Even thirty years after her death, Sackville's life was so scandalous that it was kept a secret from her great-granddaughter Frances Osborne. Now, Osborne draws on family letters and diaries to explore the tale of betrayal and heartbreak behind Sackville's journey to scandal and return, painting a dazzling portrait of high society in the early twentieth century."--BOOK JACKET.

More by Frances Osborne

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?