Osbert Sitwell

by Philip Ziegler

A wonderfully witty, major new biography of the renowned poet, novelist, essayist and legendary twentieth-century eccentric, from the best-selling author of Mountbatten and King Edward VIII.The Sitwells -- Osbert, Edith and Sacheverell -- were the enfants terribles of the 1920s; outflanked in the 1930s by the politically conscious generation of Auden, Isherwood and Spender; then resurgent after World War II, when Osbert's autobiography, Left Hand, Right Hand! , achieved critical and commercial success and he and Edith took the United States by storm.At the heart of every literary fracas from 1918 until well after 1945, Osbert was a close friend and sometime sparring partner of T. S. Eliot, Aldous Huxley, Evelyn Waugh and Cyril Connolly, and a ferocious enemy of Noël Coward, the Leavises and Winston Churchill. His love life was notoriously turbulent; he could be outrageous, perverse, arrogant, bullying; he could be generous, loyal, considerate, public-spirited -- but he was never dull.Meticulously researched and beautifully written, this entertaining biography provides extraordinary social insights, a striking overview of literary Britain in this century and, above all, a moving portrait of a remarkable human being.From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Biography, British Literature

480 pages, Paperback

First published July 21, 1999

About the author

Philip Ziegler was a British biographer and historian known for his meticulously researched works on historical figures and events. After studying at Eton and New College, Oxford, he served in the British Foreign Service, with postings in Laos, South Africa, Colombia, and NATO. He later transitioned into publishing and writing, eventually becoming a distinguished biographer.
His notable works include Mountbatten: The Official Biography, Edward VIII: The Official Biography, and The Black Death. He also wrote about figures such as Lord Melbourne, Harold Wilson, and George VI. Over the years, Ziegler contributed to major publications like The Spectator, The Times, and History Today.
His personal life was marked by tragedy when his first wife was killed during a home invasion in Bogotá in 1967. He later remarried and continued his literary career until his passing in 2023 at the age of 93.

Reviews

[Yooperprof · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sir Osbert Sitwell, 5th Baronet, was a minor British writer, most associated with the 1920s and 30s, one of the Sitwell writing family. A minor figure in English literature, he published poetry, novels and travel books, but he is most remembered today for his multi-volume autobiography, a classic of the nostalgic memoir genre. Here he receives the full biographical treatment that would have been accorded a major writer.

Philip Ziegler is a sympathetic but firm assessor of Sir Osbert's life and work, always plausible in his judgements, and ever alert to the nuances of a complex and multi-faceted personality.