Though it's a sequel to the novel A Favourite of the Gods, the coming-of-age tale A Compass Error makes a seductive introduction to the work of little-known, mid-century master Sybille Bedford. Flavia is 17, living alone in the South of France in the late 1920s, washed up like a bit of flotsam from the wreckage of her parents' lives. Despite her chaotic childhood, Flavia is a responsible little soul. As the novel opens, the white-hot summer days find her cramming for the entrance exams to Oxford, cheerfully disciplined about her studies. A chance encounter with the wife of a famous painter leads Flavia into the nighttime world of adulthood: convivial dinners, marathon drinking, and, well, hot love. Under these influences, Flavia makes a choice that will change the course of her life. In the end, the book amounts to a kind of perverse appreciation of youth and its terrible, terrible mistakes. --Claire Dederer
"Bedford's genius is for writing about people. [Her] excellence is immortal, her career one of great distinction in literature."-Peter Levi.
In this sequel to The Favourite of the Gods, seventeen-year-old Flavia, on her own in the south of France in the late 1930s, lives with the confidence and ardor of youth.
She knows her destiny-it lies at Oxford, where she will begin a great career of public service. But this view of herself is at odds with reality; it springs from ideas she
has of her idolized English father and of her "blessed" Italian mother, Constanza. Only when she is caught up in an intrigue that is to determine the fate of those she most loves does she begins to discover her own true nature-even as she loses the bearings of her moral compass.
"Bedford's genius is for writing about people. [Her] excellence is immortal, her career one of great distinction in literature."-Peter Levi.
In this sequel to The Favourite of the Gods, seventeen-year-old Flavia, on her own in the south of France in the late 1930s, lives with the confidence and ardor of youth.
She knows her destiny-it lies at Oxford, where she will begin a great career of public service. But this view of herself is at odds with reality; it springs from ideas she
has of her idolized English father and of her "blessed" Italian mother, Constanza. Only when she is caught up in an intrigue that is to determine the fate of those she most loves does she begins to discover her own true nature-even as she loses the bearings of her moral compass.
Used availability for Sybille Bedford's A Compass Error
See all available used copies of this book at: Abebooks UK or Abebooks US
Hardback Editions
1969 : Hardback
| Title: A Compass Error Author(s): Sybille Bedford Publisher: Knopf Availability: Amazon More details... |
October 1968 : Hardback
| Title: Compass Error Author(s): Sybille Bedford ISBN: 0-00-221114-9 / 978-0-00-221114-7 (UK edition) Publisher: Collins Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
Paperback Editions
September 2001 : Paperback
| Title: A Compass Error: A Novel Author(s): Sybille Bedford ISBN: 1-58243-159-0 / 9781582431598 (USA edition) Publisher: Counterpoint Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
April 2000 : Paperback
| Title: A Compass Error (Penguin Modern Classics) Author(s): Sybille Bedford ISBN: 0-14-118199-0 / 978-0-14-118199-8 (UK edition) Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
November 1985 : Paperback
| Title: Compass Error Author(s): Bedford ISBN: 0-525-48187-7 / 978-0-525-48187-4 (USA edition) Publisher: Plume Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
February 1984 : Paperback
| Title: A Compass Error (Virago Modern Classics) Author(s): Sybille Bedford ISBN: 0-86068-388-5 / 978-0-86068-388-9 (UK edition) Publisher: Virago Press Ltd Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
April 1975 : Paperback
| Title: Compass Error Author(s): Sybille Bedford ISBN: 0-00-613491-2 / 978-0-00-613491-6 (UK edition) Publisher: Fontana Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
1970 : Paperback
| Title: A Compass Error Author(s): Sybille Bedford Publisher: Ballantine Books Availability: Amazon More details... |
1968 : Paperback
| Title: A Compass Error; Author(s): Bedford Sybille Publisher: Collins Availability: Amazon UK More details... |
Other Editions
1969 : Unknown
| Title: A compass error Author(s): Sybille Bedford Publisher: Knopf Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
1968 : Unknown
| Title: A compass error Author(s): Sybille Bedford Publisher: Collins Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
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