Hers is a life filled to the brim with 70s glitz, 80s glamour and above all else an enlightening 50 years of f**k-ups, crisis and chaos. Just nine months later, Susannah delivered the book on time and complete with a collection of photos which reflect a life lived to the full. But then it got me thinking and I realised that my life has been quite amazing and I’d taken everything for granted before.”

Susannah also harbors no envy for the outfits of royal ladies like Princess Diana, admitting that while the late aristocrat was undeniably “a style icon”, she never influenced her own wardrobe. I grew up in the 1960s and ’70s when the only expectation my parents had for me was to get married and that was it. Education wasn’t important, my father said you’re better off learning how to make a decent Beef Wellington than you are to go to university! Susannah, who married Danish businessman Sten Bertelsen in 1995, has three grown-up children, Joe, Esme and CeCe. The children have not yet read their mother’s memoir, although many of Susannah’s connections mentioned in the book have dived in and “loved it”. Belvoir feels like home and I go and stay with the family several times a year. I’m very close to Emma [Manners, the current Duchess of Rutland] and her family as our kids have grown up together.When I first started writing, I was easily distracted and the house was never cleaner but my husband gave me some good advice and told me to look at it as a nine-to-five job and that’s exactly what I did!” I’m an open book, I’ve never been indiscreet about anyone else, but I’m very happy to be indiscreet about myself!” Days were spent outdoors playing ponies, with sandwiches and picnics, while exploring, building dams and fishing, and enjoying home cooked hearty meals produced by her much loved nanny and housekeeper Mrs A, whom she fondly describes as “the human equivalent of a tea cosy”.

Their hugely successful BBC One show What Not To Wear, which ran from 2001 until 2005, launched them as household names. Reflecting on her life, Susannah recognises that moving to Sussex 16 years ago has seen her life go full circle.Wonderfully written, very funny, but more than anything completely genuine Lady Anne Glenconner, author of Lady in Waiting The second half of the book I found less absorbing, mainly because the timeline was chopped up so much, and interspersed with anecdotes that whilst funny or salacious didn’t really add to the picture of the woman for me. Whilst honest about her problems with alcohol they aren’t put in context. It was more a series of recollections. Also what is missing for me is the development of her career into TV, as this is where I knew her from. I think this is because she doesn’t cover her relationship with Trinny, which I totally respect, but she mentions becoming an independent woman within her marriage and personally would have liked to know more about that part of her career. Maybe it was too difficult to disentangle from the partnership. Her perspective was utterly forthright as she depicted a lifestyle lived between the city of London and the more meaningful existence of country life. Her family lived near a Duchess where she was best friends with their daughter. Susannah explains the structure of "the help", and also the fine lines between being welcomed into the fold of royal homes from a moneyed family, but as a non-royal. She was born in the sixties and raised in a culture directing that the future hinged on making a good marriage, not to excel at an education or work for a living. READY FOR ABSOLUTELY NOTHING is for fans of The Crown, royal followers, readers of LADY IN WAITING, What Not To Wear fans and anyone who likes a gossipy memoir with bold faced names and a drop dead sense of humor.

he first met her soon-to-be TV partner Trinny Woodall in 1994, at a party hosted by Viscount Linley.

Customer reviews

Following the death of both of Susannah’s parents, the Constantine family moved out of The Priory after 40 years, but she still makes frequent journeys north to stay with her friends at Belvoir Castle, finding it the ideal writing bolthole. If you think you know Susannah Constantine you may be surprised to learn that while, What Not to Wear donned her the status of a 'style guru' it is actually the least interesting thing about her. During the 1980s, Susannah regularly found herself in the gossip columns due to her eight-year relationship with Princess Margaret’s son David, Viscount Linley.

The years of being on television and living in London were a different version of me, almost like someone in the wrong skin. Now I like a simple life and feel very comfortable in my own skin. Susannah Constantine has dealt with a number of demons in her life and makes no attempt to hide her shortcomings here. She was in her late 20s before she discovered the world of work and found that she had more than a modicum of intelligence and capability. Until then, her father and his accounts with Harrod's etc. provided her with all the income she needed and a 6-year relationship with Princess Margaret's son, Viscount Linley, took her into the hedonistic spheres of the leading aristocracy. If you're hoping for all the goss on What Not To Wear, you'll be disappointed. Neither the programme nor Susannah's close friend Trinny are given much space in this book. Instead, it is a fascinating, detailed insight into the everyday lives of the wealthy and aristocratic. There is a lot we can't mention on this show - you have to buy the book to find out what we mean' STEVE WRIGHT, BBC RADIO 2 I love the big skies and landscapes, as well as the people and way of life. I’m a Lincolnshire girl at heart and get very nostalgic each time I return.”

The publicity flyer sums the book up well: ‘You might think you know Susannah Constantine, but you may be surprised to learn the truth. That she made her name as a “style guru” from What Not to Wear, is actually the least interesting thing about her.’ From lavatory dramas with Princess Margaret, eye-opening sex-club etiquette with pop royalty to behind-the-scenes power struggles between Thatcher and the Queen! Her social landscape has been nothing, if not varied. Susannah, who also no longer smokes but admits to having a vape “attached to my mouth 24 hours a day”, describes being an alcoholic as “more than just drinking too much”. Sensational, juicy, honest, terrific - it reminded me of reading Lady Anne Glenconner' GRAHAM NORTON, Virgin Radio