Deborah Devonshire is the most excellent of women and it's official, I adore her. I love that she is elegant but will get her hands dirty, that she is a lady yet will be in on the joke, that she lives with opulence but is practical (she wears the same overcoat pictured on the covers of her last two books). That she loves animals and has owned a border collie or two endears her to me beyond measure. Home to Roost is the perfect read to snuggle up with and put a smile on your face. Ms Debo, as Alan Bennett calls her in the introduction, has the most fantastic sense of wit and it runs throughout her writing. Arising out of the enthusiasm of these new rural dwellers, I confidently expect the ones we know will soon by joined by Save the Rat Society, the Protection of Maiden Aunts in the Country Association, Family Planning for Rabbits (this will need a large staff), the Barbed Wire Heritage Group... Lady Aberdeen scattered autumn leaves on her tablecloth. (They look like potato crisps but never mind, they were a change from ferns and carnations).
When I missed the Dowager Duchess by one hour at Hatchard's in May, the sales assistant said to check with them on my next visit. She apparently stops by the shop to sign books a few times a year. In Home to Roost, Deborah writes that she always wonders if anyone will show up at these events to purchase a book or want to meet her and is surprised that many people do. She can not be oblivious to her charms, perhaps it is the etiquette of humility, but I would gladly meet with this sublime Duchess any day. By my estimation 'Ms Debo' is 89 years old, I hope that she is around for many more years to write many more books. She is a gem.