Daughter of Empire

Pamela Mountbatten was born at the end of the Twenties into one of Britain's grandest families. The daughter of Lord Louis Mountbatten and his glamorous wife Edwina Ashley, she was brought up by nannies and governesses as she was often parted from her parents, who dutifully carried out their public roles.

A solitary child, she learned to occupy her days lost in a book, riding, or playing with the family's animals (which included at different times a honey bear, chameleons, a bush baby, two wallabies, a lion, a mongoose, and a coati mundi).

Her parents' vast social circle included royalty, film stars, senior service officers, politicians, and celebrities. Noel Coward invited Pamela to watch him filming; Douglas Fairbanks Jr. dropped in for tea, and Churchill would call for 'a word with Dickie'.

After the war, Pamela truly came of age in India, while her parents were the Last Viceroy and Vicereine. This introduction to the country would start a life-long love affair with the people and the place.

Daughter of Empire by Lady Pamela Hicks offers a fascinating glimpse into the life of a remarkable woman, set against the backdrop of an era marked by grandeur and global change.