Serious pleasures cover

Serious pleasures

by Philip Hoare

This volume is a biography of British writer and aristocrat Stephen Tennant (1906-1987). The flashy and eccentric Tennant cultivated a life of glamor while accomplishing little professionally during his life; but his beauty and wit dominated his circle of productive companions: Truman Capote, Cecil Beaton, E. M. Forster, the Sitwells, and the Bloomsbury group. The author makes use of Tennant's journals and correspondence, and had the cooperation of Tennant's family and friends to tell the story of an interesting but ultimately sad life.

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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?