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Review
'Deliciously salacious' --Vogue
`Entertainingly told' -- The Spectator
`A delicious story' -- Daily Telegraph
`A Bold Story' --Sunday Times
`Defective fiction meets biography to hypnotic effect'
--Easy Living
`The Temptress is a page-turner . . . a first-rate story' --Mail on Sunday
'[Spicer] treats [Alice] as a sympathetic character inexplicably overlooked as a suspect rather than as the raging psycho she clearly was.' --The Sunday Times, February 20, 2011
`Entertainingly told' -- The Spectator
`A delicious story' -- Daily Telegraph
`A Bold Story' --Sunday Times
`Defective fiction meets biography to hypnotic effect'
--Easy Living
`The Temptress is a page-turner . . . a first-rate story' --Mail on Sunday
'[Spicer] treats [Alice] as a sympathetic character inexplicably overlooked as a suspect rather than as the raging psycho she clearly was.' --The Sunday Times, February 20, 2011
Product Description
In Kenya's 'Happy Valley' in the years spanning the 1920s to the 1940s no one paid too much attention to the privileged colonial set as they farmed their estates, partied until dawn and indulged in extra-marital affairs. Not until Josslyn Hay, Earl of Erroll, was shot dead at the wheel of his Buick in the early hours of 24 January 1941. Some said the good-looking womaniser had it coming. He was a philanderer who could have had any number of enemies among cuckolded husbands who wanted revenge. Ageing Jock Delves Broughton stood trial for Erroll's murder but was acquitted and the mystery remained unsolved - until now. American heiress Alice de Janze had been conducting a clandestine affair with Joss for years. Married into French aristocracy, her stunning beauty was to prove a fatal lure to men of adventure. Previously tried by a French court for shooting one of her lovers, scandal followed her wherever she went. She arrived in Kenya as a newly married Countess in the 1920s, but by 1941 she had turned forty and the years of partying had taken their toll. Pushed aside by Erroll for younger lovers, and increasingly isolated, Alice threw herself into an act of desperation, resulting in his murder and her own tragic demise. The Temptress not only solves the mystery of Josslyn Hay's murder with the utmost conviction - it eloquently paints a portrait of a volatile, captivating woman.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Having lived in Kenya until 1973, and regularly visiting it since to visit relations, I found it very interesting. I agree with the writer that he is very likely correct
in his naming the murderer of Joss.
But I did find it disconcerting that there were many mistakes on other facts, which I personally noticed knowing the country and the people involved.
For all it is a very interesting book and well worth reading.
in his naming the murderer of Joss.
But I did find it disconcerting that there were many mistakes on other facts, which I personally noticed knowing the country and the people involved.
For all it is a very interesting book and well worth reading.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
An interesting biography of Alice's history and life, although you feel some areas are not fully explored (history with father for one).
However, as an addition to the Erroll murder investigation I didn't find it added anything new, and was not convincing in its conclusion, as the "confession letter" is already known about. (And why has no-one ever tracked it down...?) This however, is hardly Spicer's fault, as the murder is already too distant to ever be solved finally and indisputedly. Also why does he gloss over the most famous scene of her life in the mortuary ?
Beautiful photos though, but it needs more...
However, as an addition to the Erroll murder investigation I didn't find it added anything new, and was not convincing in its conclusion, as the "confession letter" is already known about. (And why has no-one ever tracked it down...?) This however, is hardly Spicer's fault, as the murder is already too distant to ever be solved finally and indisputedly. Also why does he gloss over the most famous scene of her life in the mortuary ?
Beautiful photos though, but it needs more...
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
We have been very intrested for years in the going ons of the happy valley set in Kenya and the life and death of Lord Errol we own many books on this subject and this book gave us a deeper insite to the going ons and also was good reading but still leaving that little bit of dout to what really did go on with Lord Errols murder
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
wonderful read
Enjoyed every page of this book which details her life and adventures amongst the Happy Valley set with all its intrigue. Read more
Published 4 months ago by M. Pfeiffer
wonderful book
For anyone who loved 'White Mischief' and is fascinated by the Happy Valley crowd, this has to be the book to read. Read more
Published 6 months ago by jacqueline s.
Tempting but ultimately unfulfilling (spoilers)
I came to this after reading 'White Mischief' and 'The Bolter', in which Alice played significant, though peripheral, roles. Read more
Published 19 months ago by A Ryder
A Missed Opportunity
Please note that this review refers to specific passages in the book.
Even from this distance, Alice de Trafford was an intriguing woman. Read more
Even from this distance, Alice de Trafford was an intriguing woman. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Rob Thackeray
Superb, excellent read
I really recommend this book for anyone interested in Kenyan/colonial history. It gives an interesting insight into Alice de Jnaze's unusual life and is a great read.
Published 23 months ago by Today I'm Reading
The Temptress. A Review
Anyone with an interest in the "White Mischief" murder of Lord Errol in Kenya in 1941 will love this book,Alice de Janze, the subject of this book,is there at the very heart of the... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Mr. ctc williams
One of the most fascinating biographies i have read in recent years
A must read for anyone who is interested in this era. I personally found Spicer a fantastic writer and one who clearly put his heart and soul into this woman. Read more
Published on 20 May 2010 by Mr. Alexander Pr Watson
Fascinating and scandalous!
A fascinating, detailed page turner. The author has captured the era and place excellently. The story itself is unputdownable, and (as far as we know) all true! Read more
Published on 15 May 2010 by rollerskate
Informative read about another happy valley subject
I have always loved the photograph of Alice De Janze nursing that huge lion cub, which I first saw in the book 'White Mischief'. Read more
Published on 13 May 2010 by warthog
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