A Perch in Bohemia: Art, Love and Life in Chelsea’s Swan Court 1931-1961

I'm a Chelsea-ite. Can no longer afford to live there- was economically cleansed from my childhood home a long time ago. But Swan Court is one of the enchanting Art Deco palaces of London- though specifically built for flat living. The chapters constitute mini-biographies of the colourful, important and remarkable people who have lived there. Agatha Christie was one- but also the journalist parents of the very distinguished retired newspaper editor and military historian Sir Max Hastings. Yes, this book is a chronicle of a modernist building and the creative and modernist artists, writers and personalities who lived there. Elegantly written, brilliantly researched, and illustrated so well with pictures. I was so pleased to buy this and even more pleased and delighted to read it.

A charming account of a group of talented Chelsea eccentrics.