A Book Of Secrets: Illegitimate Daughters, Absent Fathers (2010)

Book Info

Author

Michael Holroyd

Genre

History & Biography

Rating

2.99 of 5 Votes: 5

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ISBN

0701185341 (ISBN13: 9780701185343)

Language

English

Publisher

Chatto & Windus

Shops

Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble

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About book A Book Of Secrets: Illegitimate Daughters, Absent Fathers (2010)

I have to agree with others here. I had to force myself to finish this. There seemed to be a lot of meandering and no real point. I never did figure out what the subtitle referred to. If the author meant Violet Trefusis, he failed to show in any depth how her suspected illegitimacy harmed her or effected her. Maybe I missed it. Anyway, he spent a lot of time on several women who seemed to flit through the book without any real purpose or to make a point. As far as the Villa Cimbrone, again, no real point. Overall, it was confusing which made it difficult to read. I can get through a 350 page book in less than 48 hours. This, at 241 pages, took about two weeks. I'm a great admirer of Michael Holroyd's other work, and I really wanted to like this book. It's title immediately caught my attention and I often run into trouble when my imagination already begins to work on a book before I've even cracked the cover...Caveats, to discount my disappointment with this book. Full of fascinating information, especially on Violet Trefusis. But as a book if felt only partially realized. And the odd world of secrets somehow diminished by their revelations.