Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Edwardians

by Vita Sackville-West, Juliet Nicolson (Introduction)

3.75 of 5 stars 3.75 · rating details · 304 ratings · 40 reviews

A portrait of fashionable society at the height of an era, The Edwardians reveals, through the lives of its characters, all that was glamorous about the period—and all that was to lead to its downfall. Sebastian and Viola are children of the English aristocracy. Handsome and moody, 19-year-old Sebastian is heir to Chevron, a vast country estate. Tying him to his inheritanc...more

Paperback, Virago Modern Classics, 285 pages

Published October 1st 2003 by Virago (first published January 1st 1930)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

Downton Abbey-esque Books

45th out of 354 books — 606 voters

Bloomsbury

10th out of 103 books — 20 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 1,048)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Jun 03, 2011 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Whereas All Passion Spent had a quiet, old women at its center, The Edwardians has a dashing, young man. I'm inclined to think Sebastian is a little closer to Vita's own essence, though I suppose that one is debatable. Perhaps she was so annoyed with Woolf's Orlando, she decided to create her own male alter ego!

Both of these books by Vita are well written, so why do I stubbornly withhold that fifth star?
I can certainly appreciate her wit, her wisdom, her stunning prose. But, the thing is, I can...more

like 7 likes · see review

Aug 24, 2010 Julia Boechat Machado rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: british-literature, books-i-own, 1930s

Há um paralelo interessante entre The Edwardians (em português chamado Grades de Ouro) e a peça Twelfth Night, do Shakespeare. A Viola da peça Se disfarça de homem, o que não é estranho, dadas as situações, na Inglaterra elizabetana, mas não influi na trama em momento algum. Todos os seus problemas se resolvem pelo aparecimento do irmão, Sebastian. A Viola do romance é calma e equilibrada, mas toma a vida em suas mãos e influencia a do irmão, o que é um escândalo na Inglaterra da sua época. Ela...more

like 2 likes · see review

Apr 04, 2013 David Ireland rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: big-white-square

Well, not all of them. Which must be something of a relief. In fact, there's quite a small cast: Sebastian, Duke of Chevron; his immediates; his squeezes; his servants; his tenants; a smattering of the Dowager's awful friends; a rather unbelievable adventurer; and then ending with ... Zadok the Priest and Nathan the Prophet anointed Solomon King ... a chapter at the Coronation of George V!

In the opening chapter our Duke's a boy and I thought (hoped) he'd be England's answer to Kiyoaki, the young...more

like 4 likes · see review

Sep 05, 2011 Shawn Thrasher rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Edwardians live next door to Downtown Abbey and Upstairs, Downstairs. Vita Sackville-West grew up during the time period she both lovingly details and skewers in The Edwardians, and after a sort of slow start, the book comes alive because of her inside knowledge. She occasionally drop names (King Edward, Mrs. Langtry), and admits that "No character in this book is wholly fictitious." I suppose if you were reading this in 1930, when King George was still alive (his coronation ends the book),...more

like 1 like · see review

Aug 03, 2010 Carol rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 19th-century-novels

This novel concerns the intellectual and emotional awakening of Sebastian, Duke of Chevron, during the last days of the Edwardian era, in the decade before WWI. Sebastian is just nineteen when the book opens, and thus just entering the youthful part of his adulthood. A member of high society, he is surrounded by frivolous, licentious people who prize good behaviour and maintenance of position and image above all else. The main issuer of the novel is whether or not Sebastian will follow the model...more

like 1 like · see review

Nov 09, 2012 Dorothy rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was an average read. There were some very lovely observations and pointed commentary on the worship of form over substance among post-Victorian aristocracy and its fan base. For those who enjoy Downton Abbey this is a good adjunct written by one who experienced the winds of war and change. It is not brilliant literature, it was written to discomfit and make money.

Favorite line, "Truth was a germ that should only surreptitiously be let loose on an unvaccinated world. Then it might usefully...more

like · see review

Feb 22, 2013 Eliza rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: so-british

Nous sommes en 1905, sous le règne d’Édouard VII. A dix-neuf ans, Sébastien est le cinquième duc de Chevron, l’héritier d’un titre et d’un domaine parmi les plus prestigieux en Angleterre. Viscéralement attaché à Chevron, il n’envisage pas alors d’autre voie que celle tracée par la société et les conventions : une maîtresse, un mariage, les chasses annuelles et les saisons à Londres. Lorsqu’il rencontre Leonard Anquetil, aventurier solitaire qui lui montre la vanité de son existence et lui propo...more Nous sommes en 1905, sous le règne d’Édouard VII. A dix-neuf ans, Sébastien est le cinquième duc de Chevron, l’héritier d’un titre et d’un domaine parmi les plus prestigieux en Angleterre. Viscéralement attaché à Chevron, il n’envisage pas alors d’autre voie que celle tracée par la société et les conventions : une maîtresse, un mariage, les chasses annuelles et les saisons à Londres. Lorsqu’il rencontre Leonard Anquetil, aventurier solitaire qui lui montre la vanité de son existence et lui propose de partir avec lui, Sébastien refuse, persuadé qu’il tient son destin entre ses mains, à Chevron, au milieu de ses pairs. Néanmoins, cette rencontre le marquera à tout jamais, comme sa soeur, Julia. Sébastien se laisse cependant entraîner dans le monde et devient l’amant de la meilleure amie de sa mère, Lady Roehampton.

Sébastien est le personnage central de ce roman, mais sa richesse vient aussi des autres personnages qui permettent de décrire cette époque de différents points de vue : bien sûr, Sébastien évolue dans la haute-société londonienne où se mêlent ducs et duchesses, ambassadeurs, jeunes filles en fleurs et parfois le roi lui-même (le milieu de prédilection de Vita Sackville-West), mais on suit aussi tour à tour les domestiques de Chevron, un couple des classes moyennes, le docteur John Spadding et sa femme Thérèse, ou encore Phil, la jeune maîtresse bohème de Sébastien… En quelques pages, avec son style toujours juste et élégant, Vita Sackville-West nous entraîne dans un tourbillon, passant d’un personnage à l’autre et perçant d’un mot le secret des coeurs de chacun : l’importance pour Lady Roehampton de cette liaison, où luisent les derniers feux de sa jeunesse passée, l’admiration envieuse de la jeune Thérèse devant le grand monde, la confusion des sentiments de Sébastien face à Léonard Anquetil (et le choix de ces mots est justifié) ou encore la fierté toute maternelle de Lucy, la mère de Sébastien, de voir son fils se lancer dans le monde au bras d’une si belle femme ! Le roman se termine sur une scène que j’ai trouvé magnifique par sa symbolique : Sébastien assiste au couronnement du nouveau roi George V : dans son carrosse tiré par huit chevaux et sa tenue solennelle de duc et pair du royaume, il se trouve ridiculement anachronique et cependant c’est là, dans Westminster Abbey, au son des Vivat !, alors que tout le poids de la tradition pèse sur ses épaules, que se joue son destin : « Il sentit la longue lignée de ses ancêtres se dresser autour de lui comme des fantômes, le montrant du doigt et lui disant qu’il n’y avait plus moyen de s’échapper. »
Cette période qui précéda la guerre est pour la haute-société un vrai paradoxe : jamais le respect des conventions mondaines et des traditions familiales n’a été aussi fort – les titres, les alliances, les conversations, les entrées dans le monde, tout est corseté par un code de conduite extrêmement rigoureux, auxquelles sont notamment soumises les jeunes filles. Dans le même temps, une certaine décadence s’empare de cette même société : une fois le mariage passé, les liaisons extra-conjugales y sont encouragées comme remèdes aux mariages de convenance et instruments de plaisir autant pour les hommes que pour les femmes.

Cette nouvelle lecture de Vita Sackville-West fut un enchantement. On y retrouve le ton irrévérencieux et souvent sarcastique de Toute passion abolie, bien caché derrière la description des passions de cette période riche et foisonnante. Malgré cela, Vita Sackville-West ne peut pas cacher complètement une certaine nostalgie pour cette société mondaine toute en contraste et c’est sans doute ce qui plut tant au public lors de sa parution en 1930. En tout cas, après avoir lu plusieurs de ses romans, on sent que l’auteur atteint ici une apogée dans la maîtrise de son sujet et c’est sans aucun doute le plus remarquablement bien construit et, osons-le, le plus chic.(less)

like · see review

Feb 05, 2012 Lesley rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Edwardians is my first foray into the work of Vita Sackville-West. Prior to this all I knew of Miss Sackville-West was her firm association with Virginia Woolf. Shame on me for not seeking out her own personal brilliance sooner.

The Edwardians is a in depth look into high society of Great Britons Edwardian period. The novel is supposedly based on many a true fact and figure. Set mainly, in the country estate house of Chevron the book deals with the highly guarded relationships of the social s...more

like · see review

Dec 14, 2009 Melanie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shockingly good. I did not know who Vita Sackville-west was and learned she was a part of the bloomsbury set and the inspiration for Woolf's "Orlando", which I will read next. I loved that this wild woman decided to write a best sellar and then did it. Also, found the culture and mindset of the British aristocracy has only incrementally shifted over a century. Kept thinking of Diana and understanding just how radical her behavior was to divorce the Prince and peel back the facade from royal and...more

like · see review

Sep 20, 2009 Joyce rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

An enchanting little fairy tale about the upper crust of English society between 1905 and 1911, The Edwardians relates the tale of Sebastian, Duke of Chevron, and master of a vast feudal estate also called Chevron. Vita Sackville-West, the author and a member of Britain's upper crust, who grew up on a great estate, revels in the continuity of the estate and its distinct, separate classes where longevity and seniority rule, all the while undercutting the purpose of such a system and foreshadowing...more An enchanting little fairy tale about the upper crust of English society between 1905 and 1911, The Edwardians relates the tale of Sebastian, Duke of Chevron, and master of a vast feudal estate also called Chevron. Vita Sackville-West, the author and a member of Britain's upper crust, who grew up on a great estate, revels in the continuity of the estate and its distinct, separate classes where longevity and seniority rule, all the while undercutting the purpose of such a system and foreshadowing its end in England.

The book revolves around Sebastian, his moods, his needs, his wants which accords with his (and his mother's) perception of himself as the center of his world. We read of his feeling that he is strangled by custom but also how much he enjoys his lord of the manor and man about town lifestyles. His privileged existence affords him scant self-knowledge and little interest in anything beyond himself, his feelings, his spaniels (Sarah and Henry), and his beloved Chevron.

The writing flows easily from chapter to chapter unveiling the characters: Sebastian, his spoiled lovely mother Lucy, intelligent, unconventional sister Viola and Sebastian's various lovers. Although some of those who appear in the book are stereotypical to an extreme-the estate workers tugging their forelocks come to mind-perhaps they were not deemed as such when the book was published in 1930.

The author projects an honest acceptance of all who are involved with Sebastian and Chevron and examines their actions and conversations with sympathy and an understanding of the psychological underpinnings of their code. There are some amusing and wicked moments, particularly when she writes about mother Lucy and her friends. She states that "no character is wholly fictitious" which leads the reader to conclude that the characters are based on composites of several people the author knew, hence a bildungsroman.

In the end, Sebastian is "saved" from a predictably wealthy and elite existence, the same as that of his forebears, by the explorer Leonard Anquetil, a casual friend Sebastian met at a weekend party at Chevron six years previously. Espied by Sebastian in the crowded streets following the 1911 coronation of King George V, Anquetil announces that he has proposed to Viola after a six year courtship by correspondence and will marry her. Not, however, until after his next three year exploration, which he urges Sebastian to join. Ah ha, Sebastian will finally see LIFE outside his sphere and doubtless will become a better man for it!

This reader thoroughly enjoyed the book and enjoyed comparing turn of the nineteenth century England with its upper class of money and breeding to turn of the twentieth century United States, with its own upper class of money and publicity (Senate=Millionaire Boys Club). As I closed the book, because of my own deep seated cynicism regarding the moneyed classes in general, I couldn't help but feel little has changed over the course of a century in the western world.

(less)

like · see review

Jul 28, 2012 Lynne added it · review of another edition

I found this book on the free table outside the Diller, NE library when I was home for a family reunion. It appears to be the American First Edition, published in 1930. If it weren't for the water marks on the cover, it would be worth about $30 on Amazon. I've always just wanted to read it, and I'm glad I did. It's a British classic.

like · see review

Feb 23, 2012 Sarahlizp rated it 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book. It was like a shorter, edgier The Forsyte Saga, which is one of my top fifteen favorite ever books of all time, probably. The character of sulky Sebastian never really came into focus for me, but all the women swirling around him did, and West did a really nice job of balancing the feeling that the self-gratifying life of the landed gentry HAD to come to an end, that it had stayed too late at the party already, and the melancholy for things about to be lost. There was a touc...more

like · see review

Mar 16, 2012 Maryann Cole rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: british, classic-literaure, favorites, historical-fiction

My first ever Vita Sackville-West book and it wont be my last(I have another lined up for reading). This earns a place in my all-tme favorites, a novel that peers into the lives of the old aristocrats known as The Edwardians. Because V.Sackville-West came from this sort of background I felt like I was getting an inside look into this world ruled by class,society,the fashionable, the haughty and the snobbish of this wonderful era. I absolutely love this book and I recommend it to everyone who is...more

like 1 like · see review

Mar 19, 2010 Carolyn rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Reading The Edwardians has made me a fan of Vita Sackville-West forever. Her writing is delicious. This book written 80 years ago is still relevant and her characters are all still living amongst us. It tells the story of the collision of two separate eras in England. The Edwardian period of strict societal caste systems with Britain establishing world order, and then upon the death of King Edward, the economics of a new era sees the the diminishment of ancestral fortunes forcing the blurring of...more

like · see review

Jun 30, 2012 Kirsten rated it 4 of 5 stars

I honestly loved this. Sections of it felt downright Austenian in their sly satire. It was a bit slow-moving in parts (which is why I subtracted one star). But yeah, there's a lot of really good stuff there.

like · see review

Mar 01, 2011 Gareth Evans rated it 4 of 5 stars

I bought this book because it is often referred to in social histories of the Edwardian period. It's representation of the leisured lifestyle of the upper classes is very well done. It also hangs together well as a novel, with well-drawn characters who develop (or not).

like · see review

Jan 03, 2013 Marta rated it 4 of 5 stars

I loved this book. I loved the language, the easy fluency of the sentences, the sharp observations, the detailed recreation of a world and a time. It is quite light reading, but in no way empty. I will read more of her.

like · see review

Aug 24, 2009 Carolyn rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was a little put off by this at the beginning, but then I was surprised at how good it was. Quite insightful. An insider's view of a segment of English society few could experience.

like · see review

May 21, 2012 Mary Ronan Drew rated it 4 of 5 stars

You can read my review on my blog:

http://maryslibrary.typepad.com/my_we...

like · see review

Feb 14, 2012 Jo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Great tale - like Downton Abbey when the cameras have gone and the rose-tinted spectacles are off. There were some really profound reflections and an amazing description of the Coronation of George V.
Recommended.

like · see review

Aug 15, 2011 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a classic tale of Edwardian excess, in the shadows of the changes that shaped English society in the first decade of the twentieth century. A good read, even if I came away not really caring much for any of the characters!

like · see review

Jan 10, 2011 Joyce rated it 4 of 5 stars

More elegiac writing about English country house life. Those louche Edwardians!

like · see review

Jul 24, 2011 Lesley added it

Very readable, but perhaps more for its insights on social history of the Edwardian upper classes than as a novel. Couldn't much care about the nominal hero. His sister was a lot more interesting.

like · see review

Mar 23, 2013 Denise rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, read-2013

Entertaining portrait of Edwardian high society.

like · see review

Feb 24, 2008 Gail rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: classic-british, 2007, own

This is a pretty good story about a young duke and the upper-class life before WWI brought it all down. Written about 1930, Vita's least favorite of her own works runs on at a pretty good pace, condemning the upper classes for their shallowness, but also looking right down the nose at the middle class. Most scornful of women, except for Viola, a shadowy sister of the main character. Kind a stupid ending, but I think that was done so that the book would remain hopeful...not sure about that. Great...more

like · see review

Jul 18, 2011 Elizabeth rated it 5 of 5 stars

A wonderful, evocative novel.

like · see review

Jan 14, 2013 Jody rated it 5 of 5 stars

very good book

like · see review

Jun 30, 2012 Karin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Really enjoying it!

like · see review

Jun 29, 2010 K. rated it 4 of 5 stars

I am now going to hunt down every book this woman put out.

like · see review

Mar 16, 2013 Kathy England rated it 3 of 5 stars

The book was recommended in the book "To Marry an English Lord". Interesting view of the English upper class in the late 1800's/early 1900's.

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 34 35 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions

More editions...

Genres

Classics

16 users

Historical Fiction

14 users

European Literature > British Literature

7 users

Literary Fiction

2 users

Literature

2 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Vita Sackville-West

The Hon Victoria Mary Sackville-West, Lady Nicolson, best known as Vita Sackville-West, was an English author, poet and gardener. She was known for her exuberant aristocratic life, her passionate affair with the novelist Virginia Woolf, and Sissinghurst Castle Garden, which she and her husband, Sir Harold Nicolson, created at their estate.

The Edwardians (1930) and All Passion Spent (1931) are perh...more

More about Vita Sackville-West...

Books by Vita Sackville-West

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About The Edwardians

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from The Edwardians

“It is no good my telling you. One never believes other people's experiencem and one is only very gradually convinced by one's own.” — 6 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: The Edwardians
avg rating	preview: The Edwardians Goodreads rating: 3.75 (304 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1122534.The_Edwardians?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344697988l/1122534.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1122534.The_Edwardians?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Edwardians by Vita Sackville-West[/url]

The Edwardians

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website