Full Marks for Trying: An unlikely journey from the Raj to the rag trade
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By Brigid Keenan, and and,
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Brigid Keenan was never destined to lead a normal life. From her early beginnings – a colourful childhood in India brought to an abrupt end by independence and partition, then a return to dreary post-war England and on to a finishing school in Paris with daughters of presidents and princes – ordinary didn’t seem to be her fate. When, as a ten-year-old, she overheard her mother describe her as ‘desperately plain’, she decided then and there that she had to rely on something different: glamour, eccentricity, character, a career – anything, so as not to end up at the bottom of the pile. And in classic Brigid style, she somehow ended up with them all.
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"I loved this book. This tells the story of her life from her birth in pre-war India until her marriage in the early 1970s. It has vivid descriptions of the horrors of partition in India in 1948, life in an English boarding school in the 1950s then her career in fashion in Fleet Street. It covers a time a great social change, especially for young women. As someone who lived through it she mentions some of the small changes, missed by “proper” historians which had a massive impact on women’s lives - such as the advent of seamless stockings even before tights came in. In her career she became an important fashion editor, mixing with many of the famous people of the swinging sixties. The book is written in an easy, casual style. It feels as though you are sitting with her having a chat. Although I think this will appeal more to women than men I think men will also enjoy it. Reluctant readers will certainly find it an easy, entertaining read."
"This is the story of Brigid’s early life, as a child in India, and in early adulthood as a fashion journalist in England. She writes in an easy and engaging style, and is very open and honest in her account. There is no hint of self-justification, nor of introspection, which leads to a charming memoir. For me, with little knowledge of Indian history and no interest in fashion, its greatest appeal was as a social history. It threw light on everyday life for English people in India in the last days of the British Raj, and gave some insights onto the harsh and chaotic transition. There was the difficult re-integration of her family back into English life, some less than happy memories of boarding school, and then some amusing accounts of an almost accidental move into fashion journalism, with some fascinating insights into that world. This is an endearing and warm book, written from a grateful perspective by someone who eventually entered a comfortable life of privilege, on marriage to a diplomat. That story is told in her previous books Diplomatic Baggage and Packing Up."
"Keenan’s book is not just heart-warmingly nostalgic (which it is) but the way in which she can put her experiences into context with history is incredibly thought-provoking. Keenan often describes her younger self as ‘plain’ and ‘ordinary’ but this page turning biography reveals a lie that is anything but!"
