Lady In Waiting by Anne Glenconner

MAGICAL MEMOIR

The first point I’d like to make regarding this book is that it’s not one I’d *ever* have picked up. The second point is that I am *so* glad I did. It came via a recommendation by someone who I think made exactly the same points to me, themselves!

Anne Glenconner was Princess Margaret’s Lady in Waiting and a close friend of the royal family throughout her life. It was in her childhood that she first met the future queen and her sister; her father, the Earl of Leicester, controlled an enormous estate and she was his eldest child. But, as a daughter, Anne was unable to inherit. Securing a suitable husband was paramount.

There is so much to love and find joy in, across these pages. Anne’s voice rings out through her words as a witness to many of history’s most exciting and fascinating moments. It’s the ultimate exploration of high society from the inside out, told with an acerbic wit but a deep resilience behind the author’s memories. Her life feels like a rip-roaring rollercoaster — it’s hard to believe what she’s seen and been through. There is great privilege here but also the most terrible of tragedies in the loss of her two adult sons. And I mustn’t forget the not so small matter of her husband’s will. I’ll say no more on that — you need to read it to believe it!

What I loved most about this book was the tone; so conversational and inviting, when I was done I genuinely missed having Anne in my life. It felt like she’d been perched on the end of my bed telling me her story and we’d shared laughs and shed tears together as she went along. An absolute pleasure to read, I just wanted more and I can honestly say, without a shadow of a doubt that Anne would have a place at my dream dinner party, any day of the week.

~ Sophie