The Scarlet Tree is one of 4 books of autobiography written by Osbert Sitwell. According to George Orwell, “although the range they cover is narrow, [they] must be among the best autobiographies of our time”.
Osbert Sitwell (1892 – 1969) was the brother of poet Edith Sitwell and Sacheverell Sitwell, the writer and art critic.
Honest and perceptive, and full of humour, The Scarlet Tree traces the life of the author from his eighth to his eighteenth year, focusing on family and on his own development as a writer.
“[The Scarlet Tree] continues the elegant, leisurely, jealous lingering on time past, the break with Victorianism and the development of the Edwardian age.” – Kirkus Reviews
