Try Anything Twice

“Giving a party is very like having a baby: its conception is more fun than its completion, and once you have begun it, it is almost impossible to stop.” Famous for her creation of the much-loved Mrs Miniver, Jan Struther here turns her attention to peacetime life – its parties and its everyday contemplations. Displaying all the wit, warmth and vivacity of her celebrated heroine, she describes how, casting aside years of reluctance and seizing a small toasting-fork (there being no trowel available), she discovered the delights of gardening Part of the charm of this collection of essays and sketches lies in its portrait of a vanished world – but most important is the sheer zest of Jan Struther’s generous and unconventional mind.