MEMOIRS

South Melbourne: Macmillan. Very Good/Fair. 1974. First Edition. Hard Cover. 8vo 0333139895 Dust jacket unclipped, chunks missing to edges. Maroon cloth boards with bright gilt titling on spine. Rubbed to ffep. No ownership inscription. 216pp. clean and tight. Dame Mabel Brookes'.s life has been one which spans the exciting development of the Australian nation. She has seen Australian society shape and reform, the change in the old .order and the emergence of the new breed of politicians. As the only child, of a prominent Melbourne lawyer, Dame Mabel's childhood was spenr.in the select social ,circle of Establishment families. Sir,Isaac Isaacs, Sir John Forrest, Sir John Madden: many notables of the age were familiar visitors- to the Emmerton house. Later, as the wife of the tennis. player, Sir Norman Brookes, Dame Mabel travelled afar and became a well known identity in international circles. Her circle of friends was ever increasing: from the first ranks of royalty to such celebrities' as Maurice Chevalier and the Vanderbilts. Through her charity work, political and war activities she has come to 'know the other side of life, the dark shadows behind the glittering social, events. These Memoirs also show her to he a woman with remarkable perception and human kindness; a person- with a wonderful gift of being.in the right place at.the right time to meet the right person. There are not many people in the world who can lay claim to such a distinguished and varied list of friends. Her friendship with the late. President Johnson did much to reinforce LISA and Australian relations in the late 1960s, and she has continued to maintain close ties with many representatives of the world's leading families. Dame Mabel's Memoirs introduce countless famous names and celebrities, her reminiscences of people and events 6t together to present an exciting and colourful mosaic of a remarkable life. .