A memoir which wittily tells the story of Mary Portas's early years. Now one of the UK's foremost authorities on retail, with a popular TV series }Mary, Queen Of Shops{, this reveals how she was born in North London to Irish immigrant parents, the 4th of 5 siblings. When she was 17, her mother died, leaving Mary in charge of the household. She abandoned her dream of becoming an actor, and did work experience at Harvey Nicols, before landing a job at Harrods. With appeal to fans of Alan Johnson's }This Boy{ and Nigel Slater's }Toast{.