Get Your Free Audiobook

Prime logo New to Audible Prime Member exclusive:
2 credits with free trial
1 credit a month to use on any title to download and keep
Listen to anything from the Plus Catalogue—thousands of Audible Originals, podcasts and audiobooks
Download titles to your library and listen offline
₹199 per month after 30-day trial. Cancel anytime.
The Dragon Lady cover art

The Dragon Lady

Written by: Louisa Treger
Narrated by: Laura Kirman
Free with 30-day trial

₹199 per month after 30-day trial. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for ₹531.00

Buy Now for ₹531.00

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice.

Publisher's Summary

In a period of civil unrest before the War of Liberation, a wealthy and influential couple leave Britain to make a new life in 1950s Rhodesia.

Opening with the shooting of Lady Virginia 'Ginie' Courtauld in her tranquil garden in 1950s Rhodesia, The Dragon Lady, so called for the exotic tattoo snaking up her leg, tells Ginie's extraordinary story.

From the glamorous Italian Riviera before the Great War to the Art Deco glory of Eltham Palace in the thirties, and from the secluded Scottish Highlands to segregated Rhodesia in the fifties, the narrative spans enormous cultural and social change. Lady Virginia Courtauld was a boundary-breaking, colourful and unconventional person who rejected the submissive role women were expected to play.

Ostracised by society for being a foreign divorcée at the time of Edward VIII and Mrs Simpson, Ginie and her second husband, Stephen Courtauld, leave the confines of post-war Britain to forge a new life in Rhodesia, only to find that being progressive liberals during segregation proves mortally dangerous. Many people had reason to dislike Ginie, but who had reason enough to pull the trigger?

Deeply evocative of time and place, The Dragon Lady subtly blends fact and fiction to paint the portrait of an extraordinary woman in an era of great social and cultural change.

©2019 Louisa Treger (P)2019 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Critic Reviews

"Treger has captured the last days of colonial Rhodesia perfectly. It is not just Lady Courtauld’s story, but also the people fighting for the country’s future. And while the book may only focus on a small piece of Zimbabwe’s long complicated history, it does so with emotion and fire." (Sally Partridge, author of Mine)

"A daring blend of romance, crime and history, and an intelligent exposé of the inherent injustice and consequences of all forms of oppression." (Tsitsi Dangarembga, author of Nervous Conditions)

More from the same

What listeners say about The Dragon Lady

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.