Vacillations Of Poppy Carew, The

Description:
'The Vacillations of Poppy Carey' opens with two key events: the departure of Poppy's thoroughly detestable lover, Edmund, into the arms of a richer woman; and the death of her father who, much to the irritation of the nursing staff, dies in the midst of raucous laughter. Left bereft by these losses, Poppy follows her father's dying wish and organises a 'fun' funeral, complete with black plumed horses and a suspicious number of glamorous women who seem to know a very different side to her father. Also present at the funeral are three men who are determined to become her suitors: Willy, a pig farmer; Victor, a novelist moonlighting as the caterer; and Fergus, the undertaker. However, the treacherous Edmund shows up as well and, discovering that Poppy is now heiress to a substantial fortune, abandons his new love interest and whisks Poppy off to Africa, where she embarks on a series of chaotic adventures. Will she escape Edmund's clutches? And, if so, who of her three suitors will she escape with?

Author Biography:
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.