Vita's love affair with Violet Trefusis had reached its peak and, eloping to France, they decided to abandon everything and everyone - children and husbands included - to spend the rest of their lives together. Although they returned to their families eventually, CHALLENGE remains a testament of their love and was written during that period.
The hero, Julian, might be a Byronic young Englishman and Eve the woman he adores; it may be an adventure tale about a revolt on a Greek island. But really, this is a love story, written in the presence of the beloved and inspired by her. And, as its title implies, the novel is a challenge to the society that condemned Vita and her lover.
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