When Edward VIII abdicated the throne of England in order to marry Wallis Simpson, the Honourable Mrs George Keppel was heard to declare: "Things were done much better in my day." She was in a good position to comment, having been both the mistress of Edward VII and a pillar of Edwardian society for many years. Poised, charming, discreet, she managed to occupy the most scandalous position in the land without ever being tainted by scandal herself. For her daughter Violet, however, life took a rather different turn - her lesbian affair with Vita Sackville-West ended in public humiliation, private misery and scandal without end. Diana Souhami renders this tale of passion and hypocrisy as exciting as any thriller.
