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Facades cover art

Facades

By: John Pearson
Narrated by: Frazer Douglas
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Summary

Edith, Osbert and Sacheverell Sitwell were the children of possibly the most selfish and mismatched couple in the annals of the British aristocracy. They became in the 1920s, in Cyril Connolly's words, 'a dazzling monument to the English scene... had they not been there a whole area of life would have been missing.'

John Pearson describes the public and private life of this strangest and most flamboyant of literary families.

©1978 John Pearson (P)2013 Audible Ltd

What listeners say about Facades

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Don’t read it if you can’t pronounce it

Very very annoying to listen to endless mispronunciation of words names and places ..very close to ruining a superb story of an amazing family

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Absolutely fascinating

This is really good listen, long but enthralling. I knew little about the Sitwells and what I did know did not endear them to me. This book, based on detailed research, puts them into the literary context of the first half of the twentieth century and transforms them into real and almost likeable personailities. In order to produce a definitive biography of the famiy, the author has taken a year by year approach, which is necessarily repetitive and accounts for the length of the book.
The reading by Frazer Douglas is vigorous and helps to overcome the repetitiveness and length. It's a great shame though that Douglas was so badly let down by the producer (this is an Audible production 2012) who evidently did not brief him before or edit him during the read. To mispronounce Sacheverell would be be entirely forgiveable were it not for the fact that he is one of the chief chracters in the book and his name is mentioned countless times. There are many other mistakes and not just on proper names.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A Riveting tale, brilliantly told and read!

Would you listen to Facades again? Why?

Yes and I have done, many times. A fascinating story of the Sitwells' (mainly Edith and Osbert) and extremely well read by Frazer Douglas.

What other book might you compare Facades to, and why?

Agatha Christie: An Autobiography. About the same length (28 hours) and once again the story is consistently engaging. Brilliantly read by Judith Boyd. In both cases the readers are totally in tune with the tone of the author.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

Any where Edith dresses down somebody for "impertinence" - a frequent occurrence!

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It is extremely funny as both Osbert and Edith were very witty, in particular when sending up their eccentric Father, Sir George. It is also very sad in relation to how Edith was treated as a child and how this affects the rest of her life.

Any additional comments?

John Pearson is a brilliant writer and Frazer Douglas' narration could not be bettered.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A restrained insight into indulgent eccentricity.

The introduction is far too long and far too guarded, apologising to everyone alive and dead before it begins. This sets the tone for the entire book. Fascinating in parts, hinting at the promise of entertaining anecdotes without offering the all important detail and falling short of delivering the goods on occasion . Far too reverent in its approach, teasing the reader with the vaguest details of the families most extreme behaviour . Here lies the dry facts for a gifted and fearless writer to turn into a best seller with film rights. The writer shields the family from any suggestion of impertinence and in so doing so, misses opportunities. A good read none the less!

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Informative and reasonably entertaining

An informative, slightly overlong account of the Sitwell siblings, whose famously awful but fascinating father, Sir George, almost eclipses his offspring. Strangely for a book so full of references to European art, politics and society, the otherwise competent reader selected is hopeless at pronouncing many of the French, Italian and Spanish words and names (the painter André Derain's surname is pronounced like 'deranged'), and there can be no excuse for the way the youngest Sitwell's name is constantly mangled!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brave attempt!

Rather a repetitive book but with some fascinating insights into the lives of the Sitwells.
It is spoiled by the constant mispronunciation of names, places, ordinary words, and to not be able to read 'Sacheverell' properly was ghastly!!

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