{"product_id":"the-ballad-and-the-source-9781504007757","title":"The Ballad and the Source","description":"\u003cb\u003eA young girl befriends an elderly woman during the First World War in this remarkable novel by one of Britain's best-loved authors\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Sibyl Jardine, the former best friend of Rebecca Landon's grandmother, has recently returned to the Priory, her home at the top of a hill. Rebecca is instantly drawn in by Sibyl's magnetic personality and blunt, shocking manner. Decades earlier, Sibyl had left her husband Charles for another man and, as a result, lost her daughter Ianthe. Now she is finally about to meet her three grandchildren, who will become an integral part of Rebecca's life as she journeys into adolescence. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e At the heart of this extraordinary novel is the enigma that is Sibyl Jardine: Is she a saint or a sinner? Is she a duplicitous lover or a woman who has been unjustly punished? Played out in a series of conversations between Rebecca, Sibyl Jardine, Jardine's granddaughter Maisie, and a Cockney maid named Tilly, \u003ci\u003eThe Ballad and the Source \u003c\/i\u003eis a tale of perception and memory, passion and betrayal, and the fearsome power of a mother's love. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRosamond Lehmann (1901-1990) was born on the day of Queen Victoria's funeral, in Buckinghamshire, England, the second of four children. In 1927, a few years after graduating from the University of Cambridge, she published her first novel, \u003ci\u003eDusty Answer\u003c\/i\u003e, to critical acclaim and instantaneous celebrity. Lehmann continued to write and publish between 1930 and 1976, penning works including \u003ci\u003eThe Weather in the Streets\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Ballad and the Source\u003c\/i\u003e, and the short memoir \u003ci\u003eThe Swan in the Evening\u003c\/i\u003e. Lehmann was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1982 and remains one of the most distinguished novelists of the twentieth century.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Open Road Integrated Media LLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50853764170002,"sku":"9781504007757","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_ce60396f-68d4-4fdc-805d-ac52e06f3f70.jpg?v=1737453715","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-ballad-and-the-source-9781504007757","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}