The Disinherited by Robert Sackville-West
'Stranger than fiction, but twice as fascinating' Lucy Worsley On the morning of 3 June 1914, Henry Sackville-West, driven to despair by his failed claim to be the legitimate heir to one of the largest and stateliest houses in England, shot himself. His father, Lord Sackville of Knole, had had five children from an affair with a beautiful Spanish dancer. While the oldest became mistress of Knole, the other illegitimate children were erased from the historical record. The Disinherited tells how these siblings struggled for their father's love and against the 'stain' of illegitimacy which condemned them to lives of poverty and disappointment. An absorbing and moving tale of sibling rivalry, it reveals the secrets and lies that lay at the heart of an English dynasty.
Sackville-West has done his best with this tangled and unedifying taleHe writes elegantly and has been able to draw on Victoria’s diaries and the copious documentation thrown up by her uncle Henry’s court case * Sunday Times *
Brilliantly exposes the shadowy side of the Victorian aristocracy and the horrors of life on the wrong side of the blanket . . . A marvellous book – a gripping story, superbly researched and related with grace and humour in elegant, enjoyable prose. * Literary Review *
Poignant * Daily Telegraph *
His extraordinary research uncovers a world of shadows lying within inches of his family’s official history, and he enters into it with sympathy and understanding * Economist *
Immaculately written ... A fascinating picture of a forgotten underside of English aristocratic and public life * Lucy Lethbridge, Observer *
Entertaining * Evening Standard *
Meticulous * Country Life *
A romping read * Tatler *
Brilliantly exposes the shadowy side of the Victorian aristocracy and the horrors of life on the wrong side of the blanket . . . A marvellous book – a gripping story, superbly researched and related with grace and humour in elegant, enjoyable prose. * Literary Review *
Poignant * Daily Telegraph *
His extraordinary research uncovers a world of shadows lying within inches of his family’s official history, and he enters into it with sympathy and understanding * Economist *
Immaculately written ... A fascinating picture of a forgotten underside of English aristocratic and public life * Lucy Lethbridge, Observer *
Entertaining * Evening Standard *
Meticulous * Country Life *
A romping read * Tatler *
After studying History at Oxford University, Robert Sackville-West worked in publishing, founding Toucan Books in 1985, which creates illustrated non-fiction books for an international market. He now combines that with chairing Knole Estates, the property and investment company which runs the Sackville family's interests at Knole. In 2008, he and his wife and three children moved in the house, which has been occupied by the Sackville family for 400 years. The incredible history of Knole and the Sackville family, Inheritance, was published in 2010.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781408843406 |
| ISBN 10 | 1408843404 |
| Title | The Disinherited |
| Author | Robert Sackville-West |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing PLC |
| Year published | 2015-04-23 |
| Number of pages | 320 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |