Lady Hermione Ranfurly, now 84 years old, recounts her early life between the wars: a life of great privilege but also of private tragedy. As her family moves from one estate to another, she learns how to deal with change and cope with loss - her parents' financial problems and divorce and her elder brother's death in war.

Born in 1913 Hermione is brought up at a time of great change especially for people of her class. This charming memoir charts her family's change in fortunes as they move from place to place. The children (Owen, Hermione, Cynthia and Daphne) have a wonderful nannie, Nannie Kate, a menagerie of animals, and to begin with a life of wonderful freedoms and privilege. Through the child Hermione's eyes ( although written many years later when in her old age) and with great wit and honesty, we witness the changes in the fortunes of this aristocratic family, the descent into mental illness of her mother, and the continual financial worries that her father brought upon them. This memoir takes us to 1939 the year Hermione marries Dan Ranfurly - but already you have a picture of a woman of enormous adaptability, who comes across also as just very likeable. ( )