{"product_id":"9780330544221-the-surprising-life-of-constance-spry","title":"The Surprising Life of Constance Spry","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA riveting new biography - the first for thirty years - of the influential floral artist and founder of the Cordon Bleu cookery school\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eFascinating … to be eagerly devoured’ Clarissa Dickson-Wright\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Most people today, if they have heard of her, associate Constance Spry with the cookery book bearing her name. But Connie was much, much more than the author of a bestselling cookery book. She was deeply unconventional, extremely charming and very determined; Spry’s life took her from the back streets of Victorian Derby to running a hugely successful business as the florist of choice for the highest of high society, organizing the flowers for royal weddings and indeed for the Queen's coronation. She endured a violent first marriage, had a lesbian affair with a cross-dressing artist and was a pioneer for working women at a time when few women had careers. Sue Shephard tells her extraordinary story with insight, wit and flair.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'Riveting.’ Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ‘Makes you fall utterly in love with its subject’ \u003ci\u003eNew York Times Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ‘Reveals with the greatest skill and sympathy an extraordinary person - complicated, driven, sometimes secretive but gifted and artistic to an nth degree. What a story.' Elizabeth Buchan\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56449625620854,"sku":"9780330544221","price":10.22,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/orig_28336672.jpg?v=1760446198","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9780330544221-the-surprising-life-of-constance-spry","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}