Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
From the author of The Lodger comes a historical thriller based on the life of Lady Virginia Courtauld during great social change in 1930s Britain and 1950s Rhodesia.
"I've spent a lifetime trying to forget, yet the smallest thing takes me back to the time the Dragon Lady was shot."
From the glamorous Italian Riviera of the roaring twenties to the Art Deco glory of Eltham Palace in the 1930s, from the secluded Scottish Highlands to sultry, segregated Rhodesia in the 1950s, The Dragon Lady tells the story of the extraordinary life of Lady Virginia Courtauld, so called for the exotic tattoo snaking up her leg.
Ostracized by society for being a foreign divorc e at the time of Edward VIII and Wallis 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. A shocking attack on Ginie sets the stage for an evocative mystery that connects the past and the present.
Subtly blending fact and fiction, deeply evocative of time and place in an era of great social change and threaded throughout with intrigue, this novel keeps the reader guessing from the outset who shot the Dragon Lady and why.
Synopsis
'A daring blend of romance, crime and history, and an intelligent expos of the inherent injustice and consequences of all forms of oppression' Tsitsi Dangarembga, Nervous Conditions
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 divorc e 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.