Polly Put The Kettle' On
POLLY : My Wonderful Mother. By Barbara Cartland. (Herbert Jenkins, 15s.)
THE life of 'Polly : My Wonderful Mother' has been written by Barbara Cartland who is obviously, in the words of the popular song, a 'darling daughter.' Barbara,' writes Barbara, 'had grown very pretty, being tall with fair hair, greenish eyes and a very clear pink-and-white complexion. . . . She had her mother's vitality and unquenchable gaiety. At Bembridge she was an instantaneous success.' In the index under Barbara we find: 'born 61; first proposal 134; drama with Dick 138-9; engaged to Pingo 141; engagement broken 142' etc. Apart from these snippets of autobiography this book contains as much' as anybody could possibly want to know about Polly. The background is not neglected. We are told about Lord Beaconsfield's gout and the international situation in 1877, because Polly was born in that year. We are told what won the Grand National in 1898, as Polly went to church during the race meeting. We learn about the Coronation of Edward VII, because 'Polly and Bertie . . . were most disappointed at its cancellation.' We are told about the sinking of the Titanic, because Polly 'scanned the list of survivors anxiously' to see if a titled friend had been drowned. Polly's father 'had hoped so fervently for a son' that when Polly arrived he said 'Damnation!' Polly would never use a word like that, but as she does not seem to share the craving for self-advertisement of some of her descendants, she may have been annoyed when she dis- covered that she was the chief ingredient of Barbara's latest cup of tea. 'First,' she says, 'I was "Barbara Cartland's mother" ... and now I am "Mrs. Gerald Legge's grandmother"!'
Poor Polly.
JOHN LITTLE
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