The Edwardians
By: [by] V. Sackville-West
Publisher: Doubleday, Doran & Company, inc.
Published: 1930
Place of publication: Garden City, N.Y
Language: eng
Number of pages: 314
Description: This novel is a fictional yet clear critique of Edwardian aristocratic society as well as a reflection of the author's childhood experiences. She tells the story of Sebastian and Viola, children of the English aristocracy. Handsome and moody, 19-year-old Sebastian is heir to Chevron, a vast country estate. Tying him to his inheritance is a deep sense of tradition and love of the English countryside, but he loathes the cold, extravagant society of which he is a part. At 16, his sister Viola is more independent -- an unfashionable beauty who scorns every part of her inheritance -- most particularly that of womanhood. It is July 1905, and Chevron is once again the site of a lavish house party. The guests include the great beauty Lady Rochampton and the explorer Leonard Anquetil. It is Lady Rochampton who will initiate Sebastian in the art of love, but it is the Anquetil who opens for both brother and sister the gateway to another world.

Portrait of Edwardian society and the coronation of King George 5th.
Notes: "First edition."