The Ballad and the Source - Virago Modern Classics
The Ballad and the Source - Virago Modern Classics
paperback
Published:
11 June, 2026
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Description
ONE OF THE MOST REMARKABLE BRITISH WRITERS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
'The first writer to filter her stories through a woman's feelings and perceptions' ANITA BROOKNER
'I cannot doubt that this is Miss Lehmann's best and most permanent book' RAYMOND MORTIMER
'Unconventional in structure, in characterisation and development of story . . . Unforgettable' NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE
The tale of the unlikely friendship between and an old woman and a young girl. This is one of Rosamond Lehmann's finest novels.
Ten year old Rebecca is living in the country with her family when Sibyl Jardine, an enigmatic and powerful old woman, returns to her property in the neighbourhood. The two families, once linked in the past, meet again, with the result that Rebecca becomes drawn into the strange complications of the old lady's life - with her husband, her errant daughter and her grandchildren. Through the spellbound eyes of the young Rebecca we enter into an intricate and scandalous family history and slowly the story of the passionate, stormy life of Mrs. Jardine unfolds.
More Details
| Type | Book |
|---|---|
| ISBN13 | 9780349017976 |
| ISBN10 | 0349017972 |
| Number Of Pages | 400 |
| Item Weight | 1000 g |
| Product Dimensions | 126 x 198 x 22 mm |
| Publisher / Reseller | Little, Brown Book Group |
| Format | paperback |
Media Reviews
Lehmann legitimised a type of writing that took on deep personal themes -- English PEN
I cannot doubt that this is Miss Lehmann's best and most permanent book -- Raymond Mortimer
An exciting adventure in fiction. Unconventional in structure, in characterisation and development of story . . . Unforgettable * New York Herald Tribune *
A psychological novel -- keyed to the market of such books as Strange Woman and Leave Her To Heaven but immeasurably beyond them in subtlety and craftsmanship, in nuance and implication . . . An oddly haunting book, expertly handled * Kirkus Reviews *
GoodReads Reviews
Author's Bio
Rosamond Lehmann (1901-1990) was born on the day of Queen Victoria's funeral, in Buckinghamshire, England, the second of four children. In 1927, a few years after graduating from the University of Cambridge, she published her first novel, Dusty Answer, to critical acclaim and instantaneous celebrity. Lehmann continued to write and publish between 1930 and 1976, penning works including The Weather in the Streets, The Ballad and the Source, and the short memoir The Swan in the Evening. Lehmann was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1982 and remains one of the most distinguished novelists of the twentieth century.