FOUR STUDIES IN LOYALTY

by Christopher Sykes ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 29, 1948

Distinguished by aesthetic artistry, an incandescence of style and sentiment, these four studies of personalities, and secondarily of place, have a private and literary attraction, a charm communicated by their handling beyond the limitations of their subjects. In memory of three individuals who held for Sykes a personal enthusiasm and fascination, the first portrays his uncle, for whom he was named, his overriding snobbery which led to folly; the second, Bahram Kirmani, cicerone to the English who visited Isfahan, his virtues which were as unusual as his vices were outrageous, his memory of halcyon years at Oxford which eventually dimmed in the debauchery of the bottle; and at greatest length, Robert Byron, his life of ""valiantly obstinate sincerity"", his travels, his writing, his death torpedoed on the way to Egypt. The last sketch is devoted to a French town in the Vosges, to the peasant resisters there and their dangerous game of duplicity...For a very special audience, this will meet with special commendation.

Pub Date: March 29, 1948

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: William Sloane

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1948

Categories: NONFICTION