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Things I Wish My Mother Had Told Me: Lessons in Grace and Elegance
 
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Things I Wish My Mother Had Told Me: Lessons in Grace and Elegance (Hardcover)

by van der Post Lucia (Author)
3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
RRP: £16.99
Price: £14.44 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Frequently Bought Together

Things I Wish My Mother Had Told Me: Lessons in Grace and Elegance + How to Walk in High Heels: The Girl's Guide to Everything + The Goddess Guide
Price For All Three: £29.43

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  • This item: Things I Wish My Mother Had Told Me: Lessons in Grace and Elegance by van der Post Lucia

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    Order now and we'll deliver when available. We'll e-mail you with an estimated delivery date as soon as we have more information. Your account will only be charged when we ship the item.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • How to Walk in High Heels: The Girl's Guide to Everything by Camilla Morton

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  • The Goddess Guide by Gisele Scanlon

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 496 pages
  • Publisher: John Murray (1 Nov 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0719566681
  • ISBN-13: 978-0719566684
  • Product Dimensions: 20.2 x 16 x 4.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 84,071 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Vogue
`The fairy godmother doling out advice is the eminently stylish Lucia van der Post, who manages never to patronise her reader or -- as other guides do -- write as though she has been lobotomised . . . Her tips on simple but treacherously difficult things like how best to wear black are vital reading'

Review

‘The fairy godmother doling out advice is the eminently stylish  Lucia van der Post, who manages never to patronise her reader or – as other guides do –  write as though she has been lobotomised . . . Her tips on simple but treacherously difficult things like how best to wear black are vital reading’

(Vogue )

'With no-nonsense bravura she filters out the rubbish and highlights the ways to age glamorously, dress chicly, entertain fabulously, be a supportive and warm friend, mother and wife . . . Insightful, practical and poignant'

(Easy Living )

'Poised, elegant and idiosyncratic, Lucia is the grande dame of style . . . Good advice was never so glam'

(Eve )

'Finishing school in a book'

(Daily Mail/ Weekend )

'If the word elegance touches you in a deep, primal place, then this book will do it for you . . . this book is soaked in the essence of van der Post, heady but grounded with earthy undertones'

(Good Housekeeping )

'Much-adored journalist crafts wise words about fashion, fun and family'

(Daily Candy )

'A lot of information packed into this single volume, from how to dress for your age to the author's pick of the best cleansers and moisturizers available'

(Sainsbury's Magazine )

'Some tips are common sense while others are authoritative gems of insight. The Financial Times sage avoids being patronising, and offers an entertaining read, even if many tips are achievable only with a good wage'

(The Big Issue )

See all Product Description

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Things I Wish My Mother Had Told Me: Lessons in Grace and Elegance
44% buy the item featured on this page:
Things I Wish My Mother Had Told Me: Lessons in Grace and Elegance 3.1 out of 5 stars (21)
£14.44
Things I Wish My Mother Had Told Me: Lessons in Grace and Elegance
34% buy
Things I Wish My Mother Had Told Me: Lessons in Grace and Elegance 2.5 out of 5 stars (2)
£5.99
The Little Black Book of Style
10% buy
The Little Black Book of Style 4.5 out of 5 stars (4)
£7.14
How to Walk in High Heels: The Girl's Guide to Everything
8% buy
How to Walk in High Heels: The Girl's Guide to Everything 4.1 out of 5 stars (50)
£5.99
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Customer Reviews

21 Reviews
5 star:
 (9)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:
 (7)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.1 out of 5 stars (21 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Things I'm glad Lucia told me, 12 Nov 2007
By A. C. G. Nester-Smith (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
A lovely book, full of practical tips and advice covering issues from how to eat asparagus to how to clean cashmere. It is a world apart from the endless tomes of advice for girls currently littering the shelves. This book is a truly elegant read that marries genuine words of life wisdom with real humanity, kindness and humour. Advice is delivered in a wise and helpful way, rather than in any sense hectoring. Lessons in style and elegant living that will resonate with women of every age.
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26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining guide to glamourous living, 9 Nov 2007
By Ms. J. R. Pickering "Jo" (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I dipped into this book and found myself still reading an hour later! I loved her justifications for eating chocolate, tips on how to choose the perfect scent and ideas for finding the present for the person who has everything... Definitely recommended!
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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars How to be Lucia Van Der Post, 29 Jan 2008
By Abbi Rouse (St Peter Port, Guernsey United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
It's not a bad book, I happily read it through in a few sittings, but my jaw did drop occasionally. Like at the section on presents that seems to start at around the £500 mark and go up to splashing half a billion on a private island for a weekend!

For a book supposedly about things one's mother should tell one, I was also suprised at the vast amount on being a grandmother, and yet the brisk line about being a mother.

And there are too many sections where "cheap treats" are listed as things the rest of us save up for. And shops listed as "budget" that I find beyond mine!

I enjoyed the prose, but I think she would have been better writing an autobiography about a rich and glamorous life the rest of us can only dream of. Instead we have a how-to book making assumptions that the rest of us only lack the glamour, not the vast riches necessary to attain it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars purchaser review
I bought this book as a second hand product and was really quite pleased that the condition was like new and it arrived speedily. I was pleased with my purchase. Thank you.
Published 22 days ago by TDbooks

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
Felt mislead by the title. I was expecting a non-fiction story with interesting fun life stories that can be related to. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Jewels Review

5.0 out of 5 stars Escapsism at it's best
I found this book to be a perfect slice of escapism - of course the majority of the female UK population can't afford the recommendations in this book but I didn't feel that was... Read more
Published 3 months ago by J. M. Morris

1.0 out of 5 stars complete snobbery
I was looking forward to reading something light hearted and entertaining but was left slightly disapointed by this book. Read more
Published 9 months ago by C. C. Stevenson

1.0 out of 5 stars One long advertisement
I agree with a previous reviewer about this being an address book of shops in London, but it is no mystery how this "book" ever got published: it was probably sponsored by the... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Spy

1.0 out of 5 stars For advice on shopping in London...
How this address book of shops in London was ever printed is a mystery. Tips like, try the High Street as well as designer stores, brighten up an old sofa with a new throw,... Read more
Published 13 months ago by MN

1.0 out of 5 stars Not what it says on the cover
From the title I would have expected to read about some valuable life lessons, or at the very least some wise words. Read more
Published 15 months ago by N. O'Sullivan

2.0 out of 5 stars Lessons in how to live if you are extremely wealthy
This book was disappointing in that instead of being lessons on grace and elegance it was more about how to spend tons of cash to appear graceful and elegant. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Caro Sheen

2.0 out of 5 stars Only if you are a middle-aged and wealthy Londoner
This book has good intentions - merely a middle aged woman wanting to share good advice and life experiences. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Mand

1.0 out of 5 stars Buy 'how to walk in high heels' instead
I bought this after falling hard for its cover. It does have a lovely cover. If only the inside was as pretty. Read more
Published 18 months ago by J. K. Neilson

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