A Legacy

by Sybille Bedford

Book Overview

Sybille Bedford's first novel, A Legacy is a savage indictment of the brutality and anti-Semitism spawned in German officer-cadet schools, published with an introduction by the author in Penguin... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1582431426
• Release Date: April 2001
• Publisher: Counterpoint
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A Lost World

The story takes place in the waning days of the Kaiser's rule, pre-WWI, in a society that seems to be desperately trying to avoid the instability in central Europe that finally led to the First World War. Two German families linked by an ill-fated marriage live a life that seems unimaginable to us in modern times. One Jewish, one Catholic, both wealthy, insular and largely idle, the characters spend their days moving from place to place--France, Spain, Germany, collecting art and antiques, taking air during daily carriage rides, eating what seem to be endless meals, and expecting the world to go on as it has forever. A relatively minor event--the decison to send a child to a military prep school, results in personal tragedy but also national crisis--which could only have happened in a society about to fall apart. I found this book a compelling look at a world and a society I know little about--and Bedford's prose is wonderful.