How To Be A Deb's Mum by Petronella Portobello
SKU: B-000475

How To Be A Deb's Mum

Author: Petronella Portobello
Special Features: Inscribed, Dust Jacket, Hardcover, Personalised, Vintage
Condition: The dust jacket has scuffing/wear/chipping. The front paper is inscribed. A number of pages have marks/stains.

Biography & Memoir

Secondhand copy — please check photos and condition notes.
Our price
$45.00 AUD
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How To Be A Deb's Mum, Petronella Portobello’s witty 1957 memoir, lifts the curtain on London’s debutante season from the fiercest vantage point: a determined mother. This vintage hardcover charts the author’s comic crusade to launch her daughter into society while juggling tight budgets, snobbish gatekeepers and her own sparkling rebellion against tradition.

Every chapter blends social history with sharp humour, making the book a treat for fans of etiquette, coming-of-age tales and 1950s British nostalgia. Portobello’s voice feels fresh and modern, whether she is decoding dress codes or navigating the politics of ballroom invitations.

This copy carries its own story: the front endpaper is personally inscribed and the dust jacket, though scuffed and chipped, still brightens the shelf. Inside, a few marked pages hint at earlier readers who laughed along and left gentle traces. For collectors of biographies & true stories, parenting memoirs, or vintage Londoniana, it offers both charm and character.