Kiss Myself Goodbye/Ferdinand Mount
This is the story of the aunt of Ferdinand Mount who was the former editor of the Times Literary Review and advisor of Mrs. Thatcher.
He called her Aunt Munca but she gave herself many names in her life journey from childhood in a poor part of Sheffield to a suite in Claridges and a house in Sunningdale.
It was a life of total deception: she contracted 4 bigamous marriages, mostly under assumed names, lying also about her status and mainly before the same registrars.
Her two daughters – Georgy and Celeste – were adopted and she always referred to her actual son Buster, a notable early motor racing driver at Brooklands, as her brother.
Ferdinand and his sister visited Aunt Munca – married to his uncle Greg, a wealthy man and shareholder in the high street shoe shop Lennards since 1945 – initially in her house in Angmering Sussex. He was suspicious of her because of her many house moves and never seemed to have a pregnancy
These suspicions were confirmed by a relative, Lynne, and he decided to conduct his own investigation into her life – mainly through the internet.
This revealed the deceit: the bigamous marriages, a sister married to a tycoon and the identity of a sugar daddy that might have been her daddy too.
He tells the story with wit and readability and a certain admiration for her chutzpah and coolness when cornered.
One aspect not covered is what was the allure of this extraordinary woman that attracted so many men many much younger than her.
The book set me thinking on how easy it is to assume a different identity and the black sheep in every family. Unknown mistresses and lovers are revealed after death .
Googling does make reveal easier but we all assume the person we know the person in reality.
The other point about Munca is she did not just carry out victimless crimes, or be a colourful character, but someone whose deceitfulness caused real damage to her children and others unfortunate to encounter her.
The book was recommended by Harriet Gilbert on Radio 4’s A Good Read. For once it was.
