See buying choices for this item to see if it's one of the millions that are eligible for Amazon Prime.

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Twyborn Affair (Penguin Classics)
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

The Twyborn Affair (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

by Patrick White (Author)
3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


2 used from £9.95
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover 6 used & new from £2.08
Paperback (New edition) 4 used & new from £0.01
Unknown Binding Order it used

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Eye of the Storm

The Eye of the Storm

by Patrick White
5.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £9.49
The Aunt's Story

The Aunt's Story

by Patrick White
3.0 out of 5 stars (2) 
The Diving Bell And The Butterfly [DVD] [2007]

The Diving Bell And The Butterfly [DVD] [2007]

DVD ~ Mathieu Amalric
4.1 out of 5 stars (29)  £4.98
Gender Trouble (Routledge Classics)

Gender Trouble (Routledge Classics)

by Judith Butler
4.0 out of 5 stars (3)  £13.29
Love in the Time of Cholera

Love in the Time of Cholera

by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
3.8 out of 5 stars (56)  £5.49
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 432 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Classics (7 Sep 1993)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0140186069
  • ISBN-13: 978-0140186062
  • Product Dimensions: 17.8 x 12.7 x 2.5 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,034,122 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #24 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > W > White, Patrick

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Synopsis
Eudoxia is the consort of an elderly Greek who fancies himself a Byzantine emporer, Eddie is a hired hand in the Australian outback and Eadith is the madam of a London brothel. The central character in this book appears to all three, in France in 1914 and in Australia and London 25 years later.

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
Check a corresponding box or enter your own tags in the field below
patrick white
literature nobel prize winners
down under - australia and new zealand

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags
 

Customer Reviews

2 Reviews
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars eloquent and beautiful work on gender bending, 27 Nov 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: The Twyborn Affair (Vintage classics) (Paperback)
Australian Patrick White may have won the Nobel Prize for Literature, but he is virtually unknown in America, where I had to find this book used on the web as it is out of print. I was introduced to Patrick White via another of his novels, "A Fringe of Leaves" when I was in Sydney. Simply put, I couldn't put it down. "The Twyborn Affair" was the second of his many books that I read (I've since picked up nearly all of them in the U.K.) and it is a fascinating story about a sexually ambiguous/bisexual(?)man who leads three different lives in the books three sections: one in France, as a woman before World War I, another in Australia, as a man, on a sheep station and the third, in London as a madam at an exclusive brothel. White's novels take patience; the beginnings are often cryptic and it can take some time before the machinations of the plot and the characters are revealed. The reader is amply rewarded with lyrical prose and poignant characterization. After the first fifty pages, one is unable to put the book down. My husband, who is Australian, had never read White, dismissing him as "too literary" and hence inaccessible. I perservered with The Twyborne Affair and he found himself hooked well into the first section. The evolution of Eudoxia/Eddie/Eadie is not only a gripping and often erotic tale, but a parable far ahead of its time in its dealings with sexual identity and ambiguity. I can't recommend this book highly enough. It would make a great mini-series or film! Bravo for reissuing this work of art in the U.K.!
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
2.0 out of 5 stars A reading challenge that is too cryptic and too laboured, 2 Mar 2008
By Trevor Coote "Trevor Coote" (Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Twyborn Affair (Vintage classics) (Paperback)
Written with Jamesian prolixity in a Woolfian stream of consciousness style and with a modern sexual explicitness, The Twyborn Affair is a true reading challenge. Basically the novel is divided into three parts which take place respectively in a French villa on the eve of the Great War, in an Australian mountain range early in the Second World War and in a London brothel around the same time. Each setting is seen through the eyes in turn by sexually ambivalent Eudoxia, Eddie and Eadith, though their relationship with each other is not at all clear. In fact, for most of the book it is a chore trying to unravel who is relating to whom, so many people appear, disappear and reappear. The theme of Patrick White's novel is that of sexual confusion and identity and the search for love by those afflicted by their insecurity but I'm afraid that the subject is dealt with in an unpleasant and exploitative manner rather with the sensitivity that it merits.
Though a lot of work has gone into its creation, and as well crafted as it undoubtedly is, the overall effect of the novel is too laboured and at times tedious to read. If you have something to say then why make it as frustratingly cryptic as this? I'm sure that the Twyborn Affair will have many fans (it was shortlisted for the Booker Prize but withdrawn by the author), such as the previous reviewer, but I cannot personally recommend a book so convoluted and nebulous.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Feedback

Fun for Everyone

Christmas Gifts
Achieve over 15,000 RPM with our great range of Powerballs.

›Shop the Powerball store

  

More From Patrick White

Voss

Voss by Patrick White

Set in 19th-century Australia, this is the story of the secret passion... Read more
£8.99 £6.99

 

A Close Shave

Philips Nivea Coolskin HS8060 Moisturizing Rotary Shaving System
For all types of hair removal, stay smooth with Amazon.co.uk.

›Discover Shaving & Hair Removal

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates