When the Cat Had My Tongue: A Very English Memoir

Raised by nannies and governesses in an English country house where 'you practically needed a passport' to travel from the nursery wing to the drawing room or the maids' sitting room, the author portrays with uncritical candor and humour a vanished world of privilege and isolation. We meet an alarming grandmother with 'tomb breath and eyes flecked with blood and malice', witness the near execution of a village enemy, share the author's passion for animals, her suspicion that her flamboyant godfather may in fact be her father, suffer the torments of boarding school and of first love, and wonder with her on her wedding night if the Duke of Windsor could really have given up the throne of England 'for this.' "If nostalgia is your thing, I recommend you to read this unique, hilarious insight into the Upstairs Downstairs goings-on in Diana Fassino's riveting, intensely personal account of upper class English country life during WWII." John Whitney. Director Sagitta Productions. Creator of Upstairs Downstairs. "Diana Fassino's endearing English wit enchanted me from cover to cover." Betsy Pearson, artist and syndicated columnist