{"product_id":"9781250007667","title":"A Book of Secrets : Illegitimate Daughters, Absent Fathers","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eA Book of Secrets\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): Michael Holroyd\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eA \u003ci\u003eTime \u003c\/i\u003eTop Ten Nonfiction Book of 2011\u003cbr\u003eA \u003ci\u003eSeattle Times \u003c\/i\u003eBest Book of 2011 \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn a hill above the Italian village of Ravello sits the Villa Cimbrone, a place of fantasy and make-believe. The characters who move through Michael Holroyd's \u003ci\u003eA Book of Secrets\u003c\/i\u003e are destined never to meet, yet the Villa Cimbrone and one man unite them all. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis elegiac work is about the quest of unearthing and recounting the stories of women always on the periphery of the respectable world--from Alice Keppel, the mistress of both the second Lord Grimthorpe and the Prince of Wales; to Eve Fairfax, a muse of Auguste Rodin; to the novelist Violet Trefusis, the lover of Vita Sackville-West. \u003cbr\u003eAlso on the margins is the elusive biographer, who on occasion turns an appraising eye upon himself as part of his investigations in the maze of biography.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003cb\u003eIntoxicating\u003c\/b\u003e . . . \u003cb\u003eBurst[s] with the tremendous generosity of its author\u003c\/b\u003e . . . From the first page \u003ci\u003eA Book of Secrets\u003c\/i\u003e casts the spell of a time long gone, of loves endured and lost, expectations dashed on the rocks of reality, of inner desires forever stilled, casting their shadows into history. \u003cb\u003eIt is written with the kind of elegance, ease and simplicity possible only from a master craftsman who has flown far beyond any learning curve and is relishing his free fall\u003c\/b\u003e. [Holroyd] carries us as if on a magic carpet from one character to the next, and one time period to the next, with consummate grace. \u003cb\u003eHolroyd is a kind of Fred Astaire on the page, his many steps becoming one grand, profound design\u003c\/b\u003e . . . [H]is \u003cb\u003eheart and humor\u003c\/b\u003e bounce in vibrant rays off every hot-blooded, lovelorn, crazy, jealous and joyous woman--and what enlightened being would have any woman be otherwise?--in his book . . . \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eA Book of Secrets\u003c\/i\u003e is a book of magic, a sleight of hand by a master conjurer singing his swan song, sweetly, softly, with piercing wit and overwhelming compassion\u003c\/b\u003e, his poetry in prose evoking a time past, with all its outrageous obsessions, its illegal passions, its melancholy perfume.” —\u003ci\u003eToni Bentley, The New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Michael Holroyd is that rare biographer who is read for himself as much as for the sake of his subject . . .  \u003cb\u003eIt is hard to see how Mr. Holroyd could do better than this book\u003c\/b\u003e.” —\u003ci\u003eCarl Rollyson, The Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eA Book of Secrets\u003c\/i\u003e frequently casts a rosy comic glow . . . \u003cb\u003eMr. Holroyd is an impeccable writer and researcher, a man whose books are packed with intricate detail yet retain a buoyancy\u003c\/b\u003e. They are aerodynamic; they run as silently as gliders . . . This book is a richly marbled meditation not only on the lives of several remarkable women but also on the art of biography itself . . . [Holroyd's] new book contains many fine moments during which, holding on with white knuckles, you might hear yourself cry, ‘\u003cb\u003eBrilliant!\u003c\/b\u003e'” —\u003ci\u003eDwight Garner, The New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Master raconteur and biographer of Bernard Shaw and Lytton Strachey, the \u003cb\u003ealways elegant Holroyd is at the top of his game\u003c\/b\u003e . . . Holroyd writes like an angel and memorably draws the rivulets of these fluid lives together.” —\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eA Book of Secrets \u003c\/i\u003eis truly a book of revelations, of sudden, emotional jolts . . . \u003cb\u003eThe work of a master-biographer at the height of his powers\u003c\/b\u003e . . . A beautifully structured narrative, punctuated by surprises and dazzling shifts in focus.” —\u003ci\u003eDaisy Hay, The Daily Telegraph\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“It's a testament to Holroyd's dexterity that this big, densely populated canvas never feels cluttered or confusing . . . As is always the case with Holroyd, the \u003cb\u003ereader comes away equally inspired, equally curious, and lavishly entertained by a story-teller of the first rank\u003c\/b\u003e.” —\u003ci\u003eLee Randall, The Scotsman\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003cb\u003eRichly evocative and beautifully written\u003c\/b\u003e . . . Holroyd's skills as a researcher and detective are fully deployed, in miniature; and \u003cb\u003eonly a master could pull off such a book\u003c\/b\u003e.” —\u003ci\u003eAnne Chisholm, The Spectator\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9781250007667\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"Picador","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":40621603160270,"sku":"9781250007667","price":21.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/7029\/7806\/products\/getimage_f52d014e-6f29-48bb-8966-f468cff745cd.jpg?v=1638493815","url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9781250007667","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}