Yoï

With an introduction by Dacia Maraini Yoï is the first biography of Edith Cornelia Crosse, a remarkable woman more commonly known as Yoï. Born in Hungary to an English father and a Hungarian/Polish mother, Yoï later moved to England to live with her grandmother. She then settled down to marriage and children, until her life was altered forever by a major scandal. Yoï’s love of travelling took her as far afield as Tehran, before she settled in Italy, first in Rome and then Florence, with her second husband, the well-known sculptor Antonio Maraini. Embarking on a new career as a writer and publishing several successful books about her travels, Yoï’s social circle included many of the leading literary and artistic figures of the day. She also regularly contributed many articles to newspapers and journals in England, including an interview with Mussolini. Yoï lived through turbulent times, with the rise of fascism and two world wars disrupting her tranquil existence. Yet through it all she remained, according to those who knew her, an extremely fascinating woman – cultured, ironical and refined. John Porter recounts this compelling life in his debut biography.