A Corridor of Mirrors by Rosemary Manning

Rosemary Manning, who died in April 1988, reflects on her life, politics, work and relationships with friends and lovers. She was the youngest in a large family, went to boarding school where she discovered her talent for writing; worked for a property developer; and later ran a private school, while struggling to identify herself as a writer. She wrote several novels including The Chinese garden and the Dragon books for children. Her autobiography A Time and a Time was first published under a pseudonym in 1971], yet in 1980, at the age of 70, she declared on ITV that she was a lesbian. This is an inspiring account by a woman who kept the central fact of her life, being lesbian, a secret. Each decade, it seems, has brought her new interests, new friends, new perspectives, and she ends the book with an image of great optimism.