First book of 2020
Reading period: 18 Aug 2019 – 25 Jan 2020
Summary
Opening with the shooting of Lady Virginia ‘Ginie’ Courtauld in her tranquil garden in 1950s Rhodesia, The Dragon Lady tells Ginie’s extraordinary story, so called for the exotic tattoo snaking up her leg. From the glamorous Italian Riviera before the Great War to the Art Deco glory of Eltham Palace in the thirties, and from the secluded Scottish Highlands to segregated Rhodesia in the fifties, the narrative spans enormous cultural and social change. Lady Virginia Courtauld was a boundary-breaking, colourful and unconventional person who rejected the submissive role women were expected to play.
Ostracised by society for being a foreign divorcée at the time of Edward VIII and Mrs Simpson, Ginie and her second husband ,Stephen Courtauld, leave the confines of post-war Britain to forge a new life in Rhodesia, only to find that being progressive liberals during segregation proves mortally dangerous. Many people had reason to dislike Ginie, but who had reason enough to pull the trigger?
Deeply evocative of time and place, The Dragon Lady subtly blends fact and fiction to paint the portrait of an extraordinary woman in an era of great social and cultural change.
Rating
Review
I started to read this book last year, but I struggled to finish it. I was so frustrated about that as I wanted to read it but couldn’t stick to the physical book. So, I decide on the beginning of the year to finish it; I decided to listen to it on Audible. THE BEST IDEA I EVER HAD.
I loved this book, as you can’t make a difference between reality and fiction. I like this kind of writing, and you know that there is a lot of researches and good storytelling behind them. It’s well written so you don’t have the detail of the horrors that were perpetrated in that century, but you can easily guess them.
From time to time, I didn’t understand the purpose of the flashbacks of Ginie’s life, but at the same time, I know their importance in the story. Nevertheless, they helped a lot to understand the character and how she finished by living in LaRochelle.
I sorely recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a book where reality and fiction interweave.
Liz.
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