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Challenge (1923)

by Vita Sackville-West

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1202230,214 (2.77)11
Challenge (1923) is a novel by Vita Sackville-West. While she is most widely recognized as the lover of English novelist Virginia Woolf, Sackville-West was a popular and gifted poet, playwright, and novelist in her own right. A prominent lesbian and bohemian figure, Sackville-West was also the daughter of an English Baron, granting her a unique and often divided perspective on life in the twentieth century. "After spending nearly two years in exile, Julian was once more upon his way to Herakleion." A man of fate, Julian Davenant was born into a wealthy English family on the island of Herakleion. Rather than continue the legacy of colonialism, Davenant--a Byronic hero--dreams of independence for the people of Greece, and eventually finds himself at the center of a revolutionary plot. As his political star rises, his love affair with the beautiful Eve catches fire, plunging Julian into a world of passion and danger. Known for her tumultuous, heated affairs with men and women alike, Sackville-West is an artist whose works so often mirror her life. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Vita Sackville-West's Challenge is a classic of English literature reimagined for modern readers.… (more)
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Beautiful prose, set in Greek revolution, with characters that I could not care about... It may have been great for 1920, but it does not age well. ( )
  evil_cyclist | Mar 16, 2020 |
I've enjoyed other books by VSW, including The Edwardians and All Passion Spent, but I found this desperately boring and could only finish it by skipping some of the endless paragraphs of over-flowery description and melodramatic dialogue. I find Vita fascinating but she was right not to have this published during her lifetime. ( )
  LuxVestra | Nov 6, 2017 |
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Challenge (1923) is a novel by Vita Sackville-West. While she is most widely recognized as the lover of English novelist Virginia Woolf, Sackville-West was a popular and gifted poet, playwright, and novelist in her own right. A prominent lesbian and bohemian figure, Sackville-West was also the daughter of an English Baron, granting her a unique and often divided perspective on life in the twentieth century. "After spending nearly two years in exile, Julian was once more upon his way to Herakleion." A man of fate, Julian Davenant was born into a wealthy English family on the island of Herakleion. Rather than continue the legacy of colonialism, Davenant--a Byronic hero--dreams of independence for the people of Greece, and eventually finds himself at the center of a revolutionary plot. As his political star rises, his love affair with the beautiful Eve catches fire, plunging Julian into a world of passion and danger. Known for her tumultuous, heated affairs with men and women alike, Sackville-West is an artist whose works so often mirror her life. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Vita Sackville-West's Challenge is a classic of English literature reimagined for modern readers.

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VIRAGO EDITION:

Challenge was Vita Sackville-West's second novel. It was ready to go into print in 1920, but the author suddenly changed her mind for fear of the scandal it would cause. Challenge remained unpublished for over fifty years.

Vita's love affair with Violet Trefusis had reached its peak and they decided to abandon everything - children and husbands included - to elope to France. They returned to their families eventually, but Challenge remains a testament to their love. The hero, Julian, may be a Byronic young Englishman, and Eve the woman he adores; it may be an adventure tale set on a Greek island. But, really, this is a love story, written in the presence of the beloved and inspired by her. And, as its title implies, the novel is a challenge to the society that condemned Vita and her lover.
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