Anything Once

by Joan Wyndham

The final volume of Joan Wyndham's three-volume autobiography. The first two books were "Love Lessons" and "Love is Blue". After leaving the WAAF, Joan Wyndham was determined to be "gloriously, totally and dangerously free". From living in an early British tomb on the Scilly Isles and being arrested for vagrancy, spending five years under the hypnotic spell of a homosexual psychopath, taking her first acid trip at the age of 50, to researching rent boys for women in Amsterdam's red-light district and living in a tent, cooking brown rice and vegetables at pop festivals, Joan Wyndham leaves the reader in no doubt that she has fulfilled her objective. However, there have been other dimensions, too, to her life: after the bewitching 1960s and life as a 42-year-old hippy, the 1980s brought her sharply back down to earth. She had to cope with the suicide of a close friend, as well as her own, finally successful, fight against cancer.

184 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1993

About the author

Joan Olivia Wyndham was a British writer and memoirist who rose to literary prominence late in life through the diaries she had kept more than 40 years earlier, which were an account of her romantic adventures during the Second World War, when she was an attractive teenager who had strayed into London's Bohemian set. Her literary reputation rests on Love Lessons (1985) and Love Is Blue (1986), two selections from her diaries which led one critic to call her “a latterday Pepys in camiknickers”.

Reviews

[Nigeyb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having thoroughly enjoyed the first two volumes of Joan Wyndham's diaries - Love Lessons (1985) and Love is Blue: A Wartime Diary (1986) - I was keen to complete the series.

Anything Once (1993) is not quite as good as the first two volumes. It covers a much longer time period and during this period she tended not to keep a diary so these are more reminscences. That said, Joan's incredible lust for life ensures there are no shortage of extraordinary tales to draw from (see the blurb below for some examples). Overall Anything Once is more hit and miss than the two previous volumes but when it's good it's very good and if, like me, you've read the first two then it's hard to imagine you won't want to find out more about Joan's wild and varied life.

3/5



The final volume of Joan Wyndham's three-volume autobiography. The first two books were "Love Lessons" and "Love is Blue". After leaving the WAAF, Joan Wyndham was determined to be "gloriously, totally and dangerously free". From living in an early British tomb on the Scilly Isles and being arrested for vagrancy, spending five years under the hypnotic spell of a homosexual psychopath, taking her first acid trip at the age of 50, to researching rent boys for women in Amsterdam's red-light district and living in a tent, cooking brown rice and vegetables at pop festivals, Joan Wyndham leaves the reader in no doubt that she has fulfilled her objective. However, there have been other dimensions, too, to her life: after the bewitching 1960s and life as a 42-year-old hippy, the 1980s brought her sharply back down to earth. She had to cope with the suicide of a close friend, as well as her own, finally successful, fight against cancer.

[Nicola Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a woman approaching her fifty-first birthday, I relished this diary of a middle-aged Joan literally trying anything once. Would I have wanted her life - no! Did I agree with all the choices she made - not on your life but it was fun to read. There were times when she lost me - why in the name of all that is holy would you want to temporarily abandon husband and family to be in love with gay and/or dangerous men/drug addicts etc. And, if I am being completely honest, I did get a little bored in places. For instance, I could have done without the Amsterdam trip. In fact, that particular episode felt contrived - something that had only been done with a view to including it in the diary. Also, I found myself wondering what was being left out. There was no sense of peace or relaxation. It might have balanced out the chaos. In any case, I loved that she enjoyed her drinks, food and dancing. In this respect, we had a few things in common!

[Paul Taylor · Rating 1 out of 5]

" Most of my sins have been against myself, caused by laziness, lust, greed and sheer stupidity..." A quote taken from the final page and which sums up why the book only deserves a one * rating. Wyndham's self deprecation is unconvincing and her venal self indulgence, indifferent to consequences of her behaviour, unappealing.

[Stuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I could sit around pretending to be busy while reading novels under the desk"

I also have a passion for Mars bars, blind date and Princess Di"

My favourite snack is last night's cold Indian takeaway eaten straight from the fridge"

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating tales of a life well lived.