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The Temptress: The Scandalous Life of Alice de Janze and the Mysterious Death of Lord Erroll
This is the fascinating life of femme fatale Alice de Janzé, a book that "may well have solved the mystery of Lord Erroll's killing" (San Francisco Chronicle) ―the story at the center of James Fox's White Mischief.
A glamorous American multimillionairess, Alice de Janzé scandalized 1920s Paris when she left her aristocratic French husband for an English lover―whom she later tried to kill in a failed murder-suicide. Abandoning Paris for the moneyed British colonial society known as Kenya's Happy Valley, she became the lover of womanizer Joss Hay, Lord Erroll. In 1941, Erroll was shot in his car on an isolated road. The crime remained unsolved.
Paul Spicer, whose mother was a confidante of Alice's, uses personal letters and research to piece together what really happened that fateful evening. He brings to life an era of unimaginable wealth and indulgence, where jealousy and hidden passions brewed. At the heart of The Temptress is Alice, whose seductive charms no man could resist, and whose unfulfilled quest for love ended in her own suicide at age forty-two.
A glamorous American multimillionairess, Alice de Janzé scandalized 1920s Paris when she left her aristocratic French husband for an English lover―whom she later tried to kill in a failed murder-suicide. Abandoning Paris for the moneyed British colonial society known as Kenya's Happy Valley, she became the lover of womanizer Joss Hay, Lord Erroll. In 1941, Erroll was shot in his car on an isolated road. The crime remained unsolved.
Paul Spicer, whose mother was a confidante of Alice's, uses personal letters and research to piece together what really happened that fateful evening. He brings to life an era of unimaginable wealth and indulgence, where jealousy and hidden passions brewed. At the heart of The Temptress is Alice, whose seductive charms no man could resist, and whose unfulfilled quest for love ended in her own suicide at age forty-two.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews
January 22, 2014
For a biography of a such a well chronicled woman, Paul Spicer skips over most details and creates a light, fluffy portrait of Alice de Janze. De Janze is an American heiress from New York, raised by her mother's family in Chicago, who suffers from a form of bipolar disorder. A quick sketch of her life: she marries a French count, has two daughters, and moves to the Wanhoji Valley in Kenya, then a British colony. She spends most of the rest of her life in Kenya, away from her children, has many love affairs, including one which resulted in a murder-suicide attempt. In the end, the depressive part of her disorder begins to subsume her, and she takes her own life, in her own beloved Kenyan home, surrounded by flowers.
De Janze is a fascinating person from many angles: historically, psychologically, socially. And despite the wealth of information available to Spicer, he paints her life in broad brushstrokes without much detail. He is far more interested in the unsolved killing of Lord Errol, a longtime companion and lover of de Janze. The main thrust of the book is his argument that the killer was actually de Janze herself. It is an interesting story, but his interest in the case causes him to skip over some of the more relevant parts of de Janze's life and then spend two chapters intimately detailed the murder and following trial.
I was markedly surprised at Spicer's lack of detail because he had access to so many primary sources. She was raised by her grandparents, part of the Chicago Armour family (still a giant in the meatpacking industry), and as a socialite, she was featured often in the newspapers of the time. Her wedding to Frederic de Janze was a huge social event. There were letters written between her and her family when she moved to France. He even met and spoke with de Janze's surviving daughter who allowed him to read letters and use photos, in addition to speaking to him about her experiences with her mother. De Janze's attempt to kill Raymund de Traffant at the Gare du Nord was covered in the news, as well as the trial afterward. Perhaps most prized of all, Spicer's mother was a friend of de Janze and spent several years as her neighbor in Kenya. In his introduction he mentions scrapbooks his mother kept, and yet, there's hardly a mention of what they contained.
In the end, this is a nice piece, very fluffy and just the right level for someone interested in high society in the 1920s and 30s in France, Britain, and the British colony of Kenya. The descriptions of the landscape of Kenya are fantastic. And yet, if you wanted to know about Alice de Janze, I'd suggest starting elsewhere. She was part of what was known as the "Happy Valley set" in Kenya--a group of wealthy expats who gathered in the Wanhoji Valley for a number of years. My next stop is to find a book about the Happy Valley set in general to supplement this volume.
De Janze is a fascinating person from many angles: historically, psychologically, socially. And despite the wealth of information available to Spicer, he paints her life in broad brushstrokes without much detail. He is far more interested in the unsolved killing of Lord Errol, a longtime companion and lover of de Janze. The main thrust of the book is his argument that the killer was actually de Janze herself. It is an interesting story, but his interest in the case causes him to skip over some of the more relevant parts of de Janze's life and then spend two chapters intimately detailed the murder and following trial.
I was markedly surprised at Spicer's lack of detail because he had access to so many primary sources. She was raised by her grandparents, part of the Chicago Armour family (still a giant in the meatpacking industry), and as a socialite, she was featured often in the newspapers of the time. Her wedding to Frederic de Janze was a huge social event. There were letters written between her and her family when she moved to France. He even met and spoke with de Janze's surviving daughter who allowed him to read letters and use photos, in addition to speaking to him about her experiences with her mother. De Janze's attempt to kill Raymund de Traffant at the Gare du Nord was covered in the news, as well as the trial afterward. Perhaps most prized of all, Spicer's mother was a friend of de Janze and spent several years as her neighbor in Kenya. In his introduction he mentions scrapbooks his mother kept, and yet, there's hardly a mention of what they contained.
In the end, this is a nice piece, very fluffy and just the right level for someone interested in high society in the 1920s and 30s in France, Britain, and the British colony of Kenya. The descriptions of the landscape of Kenya are fantastic. And yet, if you wanted to know about Alice de Janze, I'd suggest starting elsewhere. She was part of what was known as the "Happy Valley set" in Kenya--a group of wealthy expats who gathered in the Wanhoji Valley for a number of years. My next stop is to find a book about the Happy Valley set in general to supplement this volume.
November 21, 2013
The Temptress was written in the same vein as "The Bolter: Edwardian Heartbreak and High Society Scandal in Kenya" by Frances Osborne. It tells the story of another of Kenya's Happy Valley femme fatales - in this instance Alice Countess de Janze.
We follow Alice's tempestuous life from her beginnings as a young American socialite to French Countess, and then to one of the leading ladies of the Happy Valley set.
This was a woman who certainly did not adhere to the mores of the time nor the accepted social norms, but was a woman who did as she pleased - a reckless, courageous pioneer for feminism or a selfish, spoilt, temperamental young woman in the mould of Veruca Salt.
"I always get my own way. I always take what I want and throw it away when I don't like; don't forget this ever."
Here was a woman at the heart of the "White Mischief" murder of Joss Hay, earl of Errol in 1941. And whilst many have theories as to the identity of the killer, this author, whose mother knew Alice and lived amid the cast of colourful characters, proposes his own theory.
An intriguing read.
We follow Alice's tempestuous life from her beginnings as a young American socialite to French Countess, and then to one of the leading ladies of the Happy Valley set.
This was a woman who certainly did not adhere to the mores of the time nor the accepted social norms, but was a woman who did as she pleased - a reckless, courageous pioneer for feminism or a selfish, spoilt, temperamental young woman in the mould of Veruca Salt.
"I always get my own way. I always take what I want and throw it away when I don't like; don't forget this ever."
Here was a woman at the heart of the "White Mischief" murder of Joss Hay, earl of Errol in 1941. And whilst many have theories as to the identity of the killer, this author, whose mother knew Alice and lived amid the cast of colourful characters, proposes his own theory.
An intriguing read.
January 17, 2018
Read on a whim I found this to be one of those books that I really enjoyed because Alice was certainly an interesting person as were the people she knew.
March 19, 2020
Alice de Janze was an american heiress whose two marriages ended in divorce. During her first marriage she went to Africa with her husband. Here she met lord Errol. For many years they had an on-off releationship .As world war 2 was breaking Erroll was shot and killed. While someone else stood trial for the murder Spicer believes that there is now enough information available to show that the killer was in fact Alice.To this day Erroll's murderer remains a mystery. An excellent read.
March 27, 2011
This has potential to be a fantastic read, about an extraordinary woman - Alice de Janze. Sadly it never really took off the ground. Alice de Janze is notorious character from Kenya's Happy Valley days in the 1920s and 30s. Alice is famously known for attempting to shoot her lover in Gare du Nord, Paris and then trying to kill herself. Fortunately both survived the shooting and lived to see another day. The author has ties to Alice, his mother was a friend from Happy Valley and knew her intimately. However the book never achieved the fantastic scale of that of the Bolter by Frances Osborne. Alice feels very remote from the readers, the author fails to flesh out the book, leaving out her trips to the Congo and to South America which could have been an interesting further read.
The author also seems to believe that Alice was the murderer of Joss Erroll, I found the author's justification a bit wary and hard to believe at times. His murder remains unsolved to this day. (
The author also seems to believe that Alice was the murderer of Joss Erroll, I found the author's justification a bit wary and hard to believe at times. His murder remains unsolved to this day. (
October 25, 2015
If you have read the best seller White Mischief, you have read this book. I don't want to imply that it is a rip-off of that book but it comes close. It involves the upper class British who, in the 1920s, settled in Kenya near the Rift Valley (British East Africa at that time) to become "gentleman farmers". That group grew into a society of loose-living, much married aristocrats who named their enclave "Happy Valley". Into this scene comes an American heiress and French Countess, Alice de Janze, who fits right into the fast living life of the community. She sends her husband and children back to France so that she can live her life in Kenya as she desires.....and live it she does!
There are affairs, shootings, and eventually murder in Happy Valley and all the juicy details are here. It is basically a gossipy book which is one of those "guilty pleasures". Not my usual cup of tea.
There are affairs, shootings, and eventually murder in Happy Valley and all the juicy details are here. It is basically a gossipy book which is one of those "guilty pleasures". Not my usual cup of tea.
February 8, 2014
After reading The Bolter by happy coincidence I got this for Christmas. A great read. I really should dislike Alice but I can't. Had she lived in this day and age she would of got the help she so clearly needed. As it was I think she coped the best she could and her story probably proves that money can't buy happiness. Murderess or not? I don't know and it's unlikely that we ever will. A great follow on to The Bolter as said but if read without knowing anything about Happy Valley I suspect that a lot of the 'back story' will make no sense.
April 29, 2020
Light, fast read for the most part. I was interested in the biography of Alice, but the author had obviously made up his mind re: the murder of Lord Erroll before he even started and nothing was going to change that. Perhaps that explains the fact that beyond his much-touted connections to the Happy Valley crowd (though all this happened before he was ever born or thought of), Spicer provides not a single footnote. Despite the bibliography (ie list of books written by other people), there is not a scrap of real documentation, even for those letters and documents he claims to have seen himself. By Chapter 13 (the trial etc) we are treated to Spicer's personal elucubrations, delucidations, and surmises, though of course he was not present nor privy to Alice's thought processes--or indeed anyone else's. His "eyewitness stories" were told him 15 to 40+ years after the fact, and are often reduced to "everyone knew" gossip.
The text could have used a decent proofreader and editor. No matter how well-connected Spicer may have been (and Chapter 14 is one long name-dropping session so that the reader knows just how very uppah crust he is), he needed someone to stop him making quite such a linguistic fool of himself. Misplaced commas litter the text, and at one point Spicer mentions someone's "afilitations" with the fascists, but that's the least of it. No one seems to have told him that heroine and heroin are two very different things, and that there's a huge difference between carrying a monkey on your shoulder and "carrying her monkey shoulder-high", let alone going around "with her monkey at her ear" as if it were some sort of furry hearing aid. We are also told that Alice "shored up in her beautiful house" even though it was not in need of reinforcement. A more literate person might have said she took refuge or even "holed up" there. When the de Janzés first arrive at Slains they spend the night, and then we are told that they have "their first sighting of the house by daylight"--as if it were galloping by. One moment we are told that the altitude exhausted Alice and her husband, the next that the same extreme altitude "induced a natural high." Which was it?
However, it wasn't the glaring errors of language that took at least one star from this review; it was the author's preconceived idea of Alice de Janzé's guilt and his efforts to bend all evidence, real or imagined, to that end. We are repeatedly told how close his own mother was to Alice; the evident dislike of the author for his subject made me wonder if Mummy had some unresolved issue with her that sonny boy was trying to pay out.
The text could have used a decent proofreader and editor. No matter how well-connected Spicer may have been (and Chapter 14 is one long name-dropping session so that the reader knows just how very uppah crust he is), he needed someone to stop him making quite such a linguistic fool of himself. Misplaced commas litter the text, and at one point Spicer mentions someone's "afilitations" with the fascists, but that's the least of it. No one seems to have told him that heroine and heroin are two very different things, and that there's a huge difference between carrying a monkey on your shoulder and "carrying her monkey shoulder-high", let alone going around "with her monkey at her ear" as if it were some sort of furry hearing aid. We are also told that Alice "shored up in her beautiful house" even though it was not in need of reinforcement. A more literate person might have said she took refuge or even "holed up" there. When the de Janzés first arrive at Slains they spend the night, and then we are told that they have "their first sighting of the house by daylight"--as if it were galloping by. One moment we are told that the altitude exhausted Alice and her husband, the next that the same extreme altitude "induced a natural high." Which was it?
However, it wasn't the glaring errors of language that took at least one star from this review; it was the author's preconceived idea of Alice de Janzé's guilt and his efforts to bend all evidence, real or imagined, to that end. We are repeatedly told how close his own mother was to Alice; the evident dislike of the author for his subject made me wonder if Mummy had some unresolved issue with her that sonny boy was trying to pay out.
September 21, 2019
This is an easy read that shows that money doesn’t buy happiness. It’s a cross between a biography and true crime and it falls a bit flat in both areas. It’s interesting enough to keep you reading but the Temptress in question is rather unlike able and was clearly mentally ill.
October 21, 2014
This enthralling story is magnificently researched and chronicled by British author Paul Spicer, who interviewed people involved in the case, and had access to rare manuscripts, books, diaries, personal letters, and news articles. Spicer's mother was a close friend of Countess Alice de Janze (1899-1942). A beautiful captivating French Countess by marriage, de Janze lived life so large, scandalous, she got away once with the (France) 1927 attempted murder/(crime passionnell), of her second husband, Raymund de Trafford. Also by Spicer's theory: possibly the 1941 premeditated murder of Josslyn Hay, the Earl of Erroll. The shocking account of the crime and subsequent court trial, took place in Kenya, and received world wide press coverage. This crime remains officially unsolved.
Wealthy elite/aristocrats began settling in the British colonial Wanjohi or "Happy" Valley, Kenya in the 1920's. The rich beauty of the land, good spirits related to its high elevation, low cost of living, availability of servants, and freedom from restrictions of societal morals and expectations, made this an attractive highly desirable location. Parties usually lasted until dawn, drink/cocktails flowed freely, decadent sexual intrigue with orgies, affairs, and wife-swapping were open and socially accepted.
Alice and her highly devoted husband Count Frederic de Janze arrived in the Wanjohi Valley in 1925, Alice loved the area immensely and bought farmland as soon as the deeds could be transferred. The de Janze daughters remained in Paris with maternal relatives, only visited on occasion by their parents. This was customary practice of many wealthy families, some children were sent to boarding schools while parents resided elsewhere.
When Alice began an affair with the handsome womanizer Josslyn Hay/Lord Erroll (1901-1941) this was fully accepted by their respective spouses. Alice likely remained one of Erroll's multiple lovers, on occasion, for over two decades.
Eight months following Erroll's murder, with the glamour, excitement, the love and devotion of husbands/lovers in the past, her daughters living stateside, Alice's desirability and beauty fading, her depression and mental illness more pronounced; at her home in Kenya, Alice ended her life her by suicide, she was 42.
Although Sir Henry John Delves Broughton "Jock" (1883-1942), was charged and later acquitted of the Erroll murder, the author presents compelling evidence of his true innocence, and the unmistakable guilt of true killer. There are pages of great photos in the print copy of this book, none in the e-book version.
This crime was covered by many other authors: more notably the book: "White Mischief" - James Fox - (1982), and made into a movie of the same title in 1987.
Wealthy elite/aristocrats began settling in the British colonial Wanjohi or "Happy" Valley, Kenya in the 1920's. The rich beauty of the land, good spirits related to its high elevation, low cost of living, availability of servants, and freedom from restrictions of societal morals and expectations, made this an attractive highly desirable location. Parties usually lasted until dawn, drink/cocktails flowed freely, decadent sexual intrigue with orgies, affairs, and wife-swapping were open and socially accepted.
Alice and her highly devoted husband Count Frederic de Janze arrived in the Wanjohi Valley in 1925, Alice loved the area immensely and bought farmland as soon as the deeds could be transferred. The de Janze daughters remained in Paris with maternal relatives, only visited on occasion by their parents. This was customary practice of many wealthy families, some children were sent to boarding schools while parents resided elsewhere.
When Alice began an affair with the handsome womanizer Josslyn Hay/Lord Erroll (1901-1941) this was fully accepted by their respective spouses. Alice likely remained one of Erroll's multiple lovers, on occasion, for over two decades.
Eight months following Erroll's murder, with the glamour, excitement, the love and devotion of husbands/lovers in the past, her daughters living stateside, Alice's desirability and beauty fading, her depression and mental illness more pronounced; at her home in Kenya, Alice ended her life her by suicide, she was 42.
Although Sir Henry John Delves Broughton "Jock" (1883-1942), was charged and later acquitted of the Erroll murder, the author presents compelling evidence of his true innocence, and the unmistakable guilt of true killer. There are pages of great photos in the print copy of this book, none in the e-book version.
This crime was covered by many other authors: more notably the book: "White Mischief" - James Fox - (1982), and made into a movie of the same title in 1987.
March 10, 2014
A great introduction to the whole Lord Erroll scandal. Reading Spicer's book made me want to know more about the people involved; therefore, maybe the book could have been better. Not sure. I do feel Spicer lost interest in Alice towards the end once the Broughton's came on to the scene. Despite this, Spicer does make a compelling case for Alice's culpability in the murder of Lord Erroll in the last chapter. I just feel more could have been gathered about Alice's life. Perhaps a female or gay male writer could have probed deeper into Alice's psyche. Also, what was the source of Spicer's claim Alice had cyclothymia?
As for Alice, Spicer could have made her character fit the paradigm of the doomed rebel, the woman who reaches out sexually or rebelliously for something different in her life and dies. This theme is all throughout dramatic literature, plays and novels. As Edgar Allen Poe once stated,"The death of a beautiful woman is unquestionably the most poetical topic in the world."
As for Alice, Spicer could have made her character fit the paradigm of the doomed rebel, the woman who reaches out sexually or rebelliously for something different in her life and dies. This theme is all throughout dramatic literature, plays and novels. As Edgar Allen Poe once stated,"The death of a beautiful woman is unquestionably the most poetical topic in the world."
August 17, 2013
Found this to be compulsive, page-turning reading, although I can't say I warmed to Alice very much. I think we're supposed to feel sorry for her, because she lost her mother at an early age, her father spoilt her unwisely, and she had mental health issues, but instead she comes across as a self indulgent, self absorbed little rich girl, and not someone to about which there's a lot to admire. It's possible that she had better side, a kinder side, perhaps a philanthropic side, but this account doesn't touch on it. As the title suggests it focuses on her scandals and love affairs, which are entertaining in a train wreck sort of way.
A fascinating portrait of someone with far too much money and not a great deal of sense. A bit like a lot of today's celebs, I guess.
A fascinating portrait of someone with far too much money and not a great deal of sense. A bit like a lot of today's celebs, I guess.
February 21, 2011
I enjoyed this book, having lived in East Africa when a young woman. However, I was not running in the same circles, POOR LITTLE RICH GIRL. It was sad that Alice did not have access to the medications that are now available to treat mental illness. It was also sad that she could not return to Kenya without a male provider[ husband, father, brother]. The murder of her lover and the implication that she was the killer was very interesting. This sounds like a good story to put into a movie, and of course, it is a true story.
January 19, 2014
I am on binge of books about Kenya and The Happy Valley set in particular. Through that lens I loved the book - told me more about Alice de Janze, who was a bit peripheral in White Mischief and The Bolter. A very unhappy woman. Amazing how these women felt they had to keep getting married - she couldn't return to Kenya, for example, unless she were married.
May 7, 2016
Interesting to read about Happy Valley via Alice's story, but there is too much speculation on the part of the author about actual events to make his case convincing beyond doubt.
September 19, 2012
I could not put this down, she was complex, cold and crazy.
September 17, 2023
Alice de Janze was born Alice Silverthorne, the daughter of textile industrialist William Silverthorne and Armour meatpacking family member Marietta Armour Chapin. She was born in Buffalo, New York, in 1899. She met and married Frederic de Janze, a French racing driver, in 1921. The couple became friends with Lord and Lady Erroll, who invited them to visit their estate in Kenya, Africa. The community of Happy Valley in Kenya was a place where many wealthy Europeans went to party. Sexual liaisons and drug use were common, and Alice happily entered into an affair with Lord Erroll. She also had an affair with another man, and was very open about it. Unfortunately for her, Lord Erroll was found murdered in 1941. Alice was looked at as a suspect, due to their public affair. I will not spoil the story any further, but it was an interesting one.
I had never heard of Alice or the murder of Lord Erroll before I found this book. I got it at my favorite used bookstore, and picked it up because I like gossip, scandal, and murder. There were a couple of things I am not sure I agree with that this author wrote in this book, namely surrounding the death of Alice's mother. I have read other reviews who say a similar thing. Overall, the book was well written and entertaining. It is fairly short, under 300 pages. If you like scandal from elite's, this might be right up your alley.
I had never heard of Alice or the murder of Lord Erroll before I found this book. I got it at my favorite used bookstore, and picked it up because I like gossip, scandal, and murder. There were a couple of things I am not sure I agree with that this author wrote in this book, namely surrounding the death of Alice's mother. I have read other reviews who say a similar thing. Overall, the book was well written and entertaining. It is fairly short, under 300 pages. If you like scandal from elite's, this might be right up your alley.
May 11, 2017
Having read a couple of books about the "Happy Valley set", I was keen to read another. Alice de Janzé would appear to be a fascinating character: beautiful, wealthy, adventurous, scandalous. She lived a life of glamour, flitting between Europe and Africa, picking up lovers and exotic pets as she went. But she was possibly the most self centred, obsessive, selfish, homicidal woman I have ever read about.
This book could have been a wild ride of scandal and intrigue: these people were debauched, permanently pissed and shagging each other! She abandoned her husband and baby daughters! She possibly murdered a former lover in one of the biggest scandals of its time! And yet it was all a bit detached and plodding.
Clearly the author has done his research well, but I would have liked more colour, more excitement, more gossip. It is, after all, the only reason anyone would remember the diabolical Countess de Janzé.
This book could have been a wild ride of scandal and intrigue: these people were debauched, permanently pissed and shagging each other! She abandoned her husband and baby daughters! She possibly murdered a former lover in one of the biggest scandals of its time! And yet it was all a bit detached and plodding.
Clearly the author has done his research well, but I would have liked more colour, more excitement, more gossip. It is, after all, the only reason anyone would remember the diabolical Countess de Janzé.
August 28, 2019
Sex, drugs and jazz in Kenya of the 20s and 30s. Depression, obsession and dark moods overtook the personality of the Countess who quite possibly had committed murder to ensure that she and her lover would be together in the afterlife. This only after attempting a unsuccessful murder suicide years before with another lover, from which she suffered health problems for years until her death. The excesses told in this quick read speak volumes about life in the world that once was for only the privileged.
October 24, 2020
This is the biography of an American Socialite Alice, Countess De Janz. From a wealthy Chicago family, she survived the loss of her mother, then was taken from her family. She then moved to Paris and was making a life for herself and got married. She then ended up in Kenya. The author paints her as someone struggling with her mental health. She is also possible the killer of Lord Erroll in Kenya.
She was definetely troubled but I think she was a also a little bit of a pioneer wanting to do things that she couldn't because of the time she lived in.
She was definetely troubled but I think she was a also a little bit of a pioneer wanting to do things that she couldn't because of the time she lived in.
April 1, 2025
I had read White Mischief by James Fox some 20 years ago, have totally forgotten about it until now.
This is a more light and enjoyable read and a fascinating insight to the colonial high living in Kenya during the colonial rule.
Such story one can still find in today’s high society.
I don’t know if I feel sorry or pity for Alice, I guess she couldn’t help herself being the drama queen of her own undoing.
This is a more light and enjoyable read and a fascinating insight to the colonial high living in Kenya during the colonial rule.
Such story one can still find in today’s high society.
I don’t know if I feel sorry or pity for Alice, I guess she couldn’t help herself being the drama queen of her own undoing.
September 1, 2018
An quick interesting read. A lot of names to get your head around but the description of life in Kenya at that time are very descriptive. Another book club choice I wouldn’t normally have picked up but one that provides an insight into the Kenyan “jet set”
February 20, 2021
A strong contender for the answer to who murdered lord errol.an interesting read and insight to a long forgotten era.interesting to note that many of them had a happy life regardless of the name of the valley.
Read
February 7, 2020(Book source: public library loan)
June 7, 2020
Loved this insight into history. I don't usually read books like this but thought it was very interesting
July 18, 2020
Fascinating story.
January 17, 2021
Very intriguing story. Characters can be a lottle difficult to follow but there is a handy reference. Do not read a lot of non fiction but thoroughly enjoyed this.
May 16, 2023
TMI
Just tell the story no need to give the history of every person, what they wore. Maybe I will read some of the books referenced in this one.
Just tell the story no need to give the history of every person, what they wore. Maybe I will read some of the books referenced in this one.
April 20, 2024
So it woz Sarah Miles wot dunnit...
January 27, 2018
Fantastic adventurous plot but I wish the writing was more engaging. It's a book that I will not be keeping on my shelf, unfortunately.
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