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Ladies of Lyndon

By Margaret Kennedy
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Ladies of Lyndon follows Agatha, a beautiful and carefully raised young woman who is poised to marry John Clewer and become the esteemed Mistress of the English country house, Lyndon. Margaret Kennedy brilliantly depicts how Agatha and the inhabitants of Lyndon must confront and adapt to the challenges brought on by changing social values and the upheaval of war. When Agatha’s brief but intense love affair with her cousin Gerald resurfaces amid the turbulence of war in Europe, she is haunted by the possibility of a life beyond the perfect yet restrictive world she is about to lead.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ladies of Lyndon will appeal to readers who enjoy insightful explorations of family dynamics, social change in an English country setting, and nuanced character studies wrapped in historical fiction.

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Agatha is aware of an intensity, a powerful storm of emotion briefly awakened by a shortlived love affair with her cousin Gerald, that is entirely lacking from the successful marriage on which she is about to embark.

Insightful, witty and caustic, Margaret Kennedy shows how the inhabitants of a perfect English country house, and their old ideas of family and respectabilty, must change and adapt to the new pressures of a modern world

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Insightful, witty and caustic, Margaret Kennedy shows how the inhabitants of a perfect English country house, and their old ideas of family and respectability, must change and adapt to the new pressures of a modern world.

Agatha is aware of an intensity, a powerful storm of emotion briefly awakened by a short-lived love affair with her cousin Gerald, that is entirely lacking from the successful marriage on which she is about to embark. Beautiful, young and carefully brought up, Agatha knows she is securing a perfect and luxurious future in marrying handsome John Clewer and becoming Mistress of Lyndon, and she soon becomes the perfect country house hostess. But when Gerald reappears and war in Europe disturbs the sheltered comfort of Lyndon forever, Agatha is once again haunted by the idea of a different life.

Ladies of Lyndon explores themes of love, duty, and societal change, encapsulating the transition from old to new in a gripping narrative.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

This extraordinary debut novel was praised for its assured, wide-ranging and thoughtful storytelling by Independent on Sunday, and commended for superb craftsmanship by Elizabeth Bowen in Tatler. The Washington Post noted Kennedy's immense popularity in her prime, and the New York Times in 1924 lauded her as a leading novelist of the day.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780099589761

Publisher: Vintage Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 07 August 2014

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Vintage Classics

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 20.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 238g

Pages: 336

Collections

Classic Fiction Classic General Fiction Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction Margaret Kennedy Penguin Books

About the Author

Margaret Kennedy was born in London in 1896 and read History at Somerville College, Oxford in 1915 (alongside Winifred Holtby and Vera Brittain) where she began writing. In 1924, Kennedy's second novel The Constant Nymph became a worldwide bestseller which she adapted into a hit West End play starring Noel Coward (three different star-studded film versions followed). Described as 'superb' by Elizabeth Bowen, Kennedy wrote fifteen further prize-winning novels including The Feast in 1950, as well as literary criticism and a biography of Jane Austen. She died in 1967.

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