Mary Wesley was born near Windsor in 1912. Her education took her to the London School of Economics and during the War she worked in the War Office. Although she initially fulfilled her parent's expectations in marrying an aristocrat she then scandalised them when she divorced him in 1945 and moved in with the great love of her life, Eric Siepmann. The couple married in 1952, once his wife had finally been persuaded to divorce him. She used to comment that her 'chief claim to fame is arrested development, getting my first novel [Jumping the Queue] published at the age of seventy'. She went on to write a further nine novels, three of which were adapted for television, including the best-selling The Camomile Lawn. Mary Wesley was awarded the CBE in the 1995 New Year's honour list and died in 2002.

"I loved it for its extraordinary combination of despair and wild black humour" -- Julia Blackburn "Great verve and inventiveness" Times Literary Supplement "A virtuoso performance of guileful plotting, deft characterisation and malicious wit" The Times "Quriky, sexy and deeply fascinating" -- Sheila Hancock

Mary Wesley was born near Windsor in 1912. Her education took her to the London School of Economics and during the War she worked in the War Office. Although she initially fulfilled her parent's expectations in marrying an aristocrat she then scandalised them when she divorced him in 1945 and moved in with the great love of her life, Eric Siepmann. The couple married in 1952, once his wife had finally been persuaded to divorce him. She used to comment that her 'chief claim to fame is arrested development, getting my first novel [Jumping the Queue] published at the age of seventy'. She went on to write a further nine novels, three of which were adapted for television, including the best-selling The Camomile Lawn. Mary Wesley was awarded the CBE in the 1995 New Year's honour list and died in 2002.

"I loved it for its extraordinary combination of despair and wild black humour" -- Julia Blackburn "Great verve and inventiveness" Times Literary Supplement "A virtuoso performance of guileful plotting, deft characterisation and malicious wit" The Times "Quriky, sexy and deeply fascinating" -- Sheila Hancock