With this second volume of autobiography Penelope Mortimer covers the three decades, from the acceptance of her first novel in 1945 (intended as an immense historical saga about the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) to her divorce from the ,writer John Mortimer in 1972. These were years of immense productivity, ranging from being an Agony Aunt to the writing of Pumpkin Eater; the years of bringing up six children in the context of a difficult and absorbing marriage. The conflict between writer, wife and mother is explored with honesty, tempered by irony and humour.