This has been on the shelf for a while but the moment felt right to read it. The book itself is lovingly presented. It feels premium and special. Unfortunately the actual written contents left me really struggling. For a start, the subject was based upon an enormous amount of conjecture and guess work, as the author herself freely admits. This made it feel immediately as if I was wasting my time a bit.
Although the general feel of the time and the world in which the key players lived interests me, it was presented in such a dry manner that I got bored very quickly. So much unecessary detail – at one point, she spends about three pages just listing books published by the publishing company at the centre of it all. It reads like an essay overall. The author may be lovely and it remains entirely possible that she is an incredible entertainer, but on this evidence, I would certainly choose to sit as far away from her as possible if we were attending the same dinner party.
Avoid unless you just want your bookcase to look nice.