Lit Tag: I'm It!! "The Bolter" By Frances Osborne

I was recently tagged by Annie at Poetic & Chic blog. I don't normally do this kind of thing but since it was Annie who tagged me, I couldn't say no (I've long suspected we were separated at birth though we've never actually met). Also, it's a fun way of sharing good literature. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, once you've been tagged, the rules are as follows:

1. Pick up the nearest book;
2. Open to page 123;
3. Find the fifth sentence;
4. Post the next three sentences;
5. Tag 5 people, acknowledge who tagged you.

I'm currently reading a few books which I alternate depending on my mood. Since the nearest book I picked up was in French and I post exclusively in English, I've opted for the second nearest book: The Bolter: Idina Sackville - The Woman Who Scandalised 1920s Society and Became White Mischief's Infamous Seductress by Frances Osborne (Virago Press, 2008). I'm a sucker for elegant tales of debauchery especially when they involve glamorous characters and take place in exotic locales. In this respect, The Bolter is a very satisfying tale indeed and a true story to boot! The opening scene in the book takes place in the foyer of The Claridge's Hotel, one of my favorite places in all of London and sets the tone for the entire story.

As the title indicates, the book recounts the story of Idina Sackville, an upper-class English woman with a penchant for excess in all its forms - husbands, parties, shopping, champagne and spouse-swapping (the book even has a chart to allow the reader to keep track of her marriages). She named her beloved lap dog "Satan" and was divorced at the tender age of 25, was barred from seeing two of her children, ran off to Kenya and divorced four more times before her death. She was a muse to designers, an inspiration to authors including Nancy Mitford (the Pursuit of Love, Love in a Cold Climate) and a stain on her family's honor. Without further ado, here is a snippet of this fascinating true life story as recounted by the subject's great granddaughter:

"(...) The raffle was set for the middle of June, after the wet weather. That gave Idina and Charles two long wet months to draw up their choices. The rains had already started in Nairobi and in the farmlands upcountry, and the mud tracks leading down from the farms to the railroad had dissolved into deltas. The best research would be here in town: in a wood-panelled bar of the Muthaiga, where the chaps were gentlemen, or ought to be, and in the glitzier environs of the Norfolk bar, open from eleven in the morning, where even the faster sort of fellows could ply their trade. Those piling out of Europe in search of the new had been both mentally and physically toughened by the war. (...)"

For all the glamour and hedonism however, the tale of Idina Sackville is at its core a very sad one about loss, longing and human frailty. It is nonetheless a thoroughly good read and I highly recommend it. As for my own "it list", I tag:

Dualite
Muhajababe
Beauty Is Within
F&Art Guide

Tag! You're it!! Tell us what you're reading.

Sincerely,

The Luxe Chronicles

Comments

[Dahlia]

The exerpt I'm about to write is from a book called "Buying In: The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are" by Rob Walker, a New York Times' columnist who wrote "Consumed".

The topic at hand in that chapter talks about how marketing has let go of its traditional roots and infiltrated the new market with new tactics. As such, the video gaming industry has been booming over the last 10 years and sponsors can't help themselves but market to these demographics of young 20-something men with their products. I mean, what exactly do Tylenol and Red Bull have in common with the video game industry? Exactly. Nothing.

"In essence, BrainReserve decided to build its own team of gamers and insert them into the game community. They wanted leaders of the community, people who believe in gaming as a lifestyle. Heroes. Influencers."

I've also been reading several books, most of them are New Ideas on Business and Marketing. I prefer the more conspiracy and exposee types such as this one. It's really amazing how marketing has adapted itself with the times.