Set in the late 1920s, Sybille Bedford’s semi-autobiographical novel explicitly explores late-adolescent female sexuality and same-sex attraction. The 17-year-old protagonist, Flavia, becomes entangled in the bohemian lifestyle of a French coastal village, experiencing a sensual awakening and romantic affairs with older women—specifically a painter’s wife, Thérèse, and an alluring, manipulative woman named Andrée.
Seventeen-year-old Flavia spends a solitary, idyllic summer in the South of France cramming for her Oxford entrance exams. Her disciplined life is upended when a chance encounter draws her into a sophisticated, bohemian circle of older intellectuals. Swept into a world of intense drinking, intellectual sparring, and passionate lesbian love affairs, Flavia’s youthful arrogance blinds her to a web of betrayal that will permanently alter the trajectory of her life and family.
Details
| ISBN: 9781907970030 |
| Subtitle: |
| Genre: Fiction; Coming of Age |
| Subject(s): France, Southern – Fiction |
| Publication Date: 2011 |
| Original Publication Date: |
| Publisher: Daunt |
| Language: English |
| Format: Paperback |
| Pages: 232 |
| Rating: |
| Notes: |
| Book_ID: 107655 |