From an eccentric childhood in the South of France, Malaysia and occasionally the UK to her years as a young new reporter in Algeria and Italy during World War II Suzanne St Albans has had a most unusual and fascinating life. Following her idiosyncratic childhood, where schooling took a back seat, we meet her parents, minders, governesses, family retainers and many other local 'characters' against a backdrop of extraordinary animals, vegetation and landscape. Eventually Suzanne and her two siblings went to proper schools. When World War II started the family was split up and Suzanne started her working life as a library assistant. She eventually wormed her way into the secret service. Once there she wrote with wit and erudition about life in the News Section in Algiers and when the war ended she was offered by her reluctant boss a new assignment, as News Editor in Vienna, where on her first day she met her future husband. This charming autobiography draws you into the details of this fascinating life lived to the full.