by Diana Athill
‘Tolstoy was wrong. All happy families are not alike; certainly all happy people are not alike. There are so few of them it’s hard to compare. But one thing is clear: Diana Athill is a happy person, and there’s no one remotely like her … On sex especially everyone over sixty should read her – and everyone under sixty too’ Literary Review
‘Her eye is unflinching, her prose as clear and graceful as ever; her honesty is inspiring’ Spectator
‘Exhilarating and comforting, so much good sense, candour and liveliness of spirit in such clean, clear prose’ Simon Gray
‘Informative, honest and lacking in the usual sorrow over old age. A remarkable woman’ Beryl Bainbridge
‘Brave, amusing and graceful’ Sunday Telegraph
‘A convivial memoirist, full of clarity and wit, original thought and understated insight’ Metro
‘[An] honest, clear-sighted book’ Independent
‘Her brilliant book is entirely lacking in the usual regrets, nostalgia and Hovis-ad recollections of old-timers. It is a little literary gem, penned by a marvellous, feisty old character whom, quite honestly, I’d just love to have as my grandmother. What a treasure’ Daily Mail
‘Vive la Athill!’ The Times
‘Packed with humorous anecdotes, this is an inspiration’ Woman and Home
‘A splendid read, upbeat, often amusing, ironic and always superbly intelligent on any and every subject’ Oldie
‘Athill’s candour and economic prose on religion, regrets and sex are invigorating’ Financial Times
About the Author
Diana Athill was born in 1917. She worked for the BBC throughout the Second World War and then helped André Deutsch establish the publishing company that bore his name. Athill’s distinguished career as an editor is the subject of her acclaimed memoir Stet, which is also published by Granta Books, as are four other volumes of memoirs – Instead of a Letter, After a Funeral, Yesterday Morning, Make Believe – and a novel, Don’t Look at Me Like That. Somewhere Towards the End won the 2008 Costa Biography Award.
Copyright
Granta Publications, 12 Addison Avenue, London W11 4QR
First published in Great Britain by Granta Books 2008
This ebook edition published by Granta Books 2009
Copyright © Diana Athill, 2008
Diana Athill has asserted her moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978 1 84708 158 2