I Live Under a Black Sun

Edith Sitwell

Dame Edith Sitwell, wit, notorious eccentric and poet, is not normally thought of as a novelist. But her only novel, I Live Under a Black Sun, is a true forgotten classic. Garlanded with extravagant praise on its release, it was reprinted several times but fell into neglect and has now been out of print for almost fifty years.

Although it takes its inspiration from the life, writings and correspondence of the great Irish satirist Jonathan Swift, I Live Under a Black Sun is set during and after the First World War. The novel follows Jonathan Hare, writer and misogynist, a character very much based on Swift, through his tragic relationships with two women who are likewise based on real people in Swift's life. Luxurious, angular, poetic,and sprinkled with allusions to Swift's most famous works and correspondence, I Live Under a Black Sun is a work that will surely entrance a whole new generation of readers.

‘Miss Sitwell's book, or so it seems to me, is like a magnesium flame in a cavern,immediately and abundantly beautiful at first sight, provoking further boundless investigation. It is a book that must be read patiently, more than once and it must be read.’– Evelyn Waugh

‘Anyone who loves literature will realize that they are presented with an originality of outlook and a resourcefulness of craftsmanship that deserve the highest praise.’ – L.P. Hartley

‘I hesitate to use that much bandied and shop-soiled word ‘genius’ it would be so much more politic, so much safer, to apply the epithet ‘brilliant ; yet if this novel has not a touch of genius I must admit that I do not know what genius is.’ – Guardian

EDITH SITWELL (1887-1964) was a poet, wit and notorious eccentric. With her brothers Sachaverell and Osbert she was also a member of one of the most famous literary families of the twentieth century. Her work includes Façade (set to music by William Walton) and Fanfare for Elizabeth.