Pamela: In Her Own Right

The Age

Saturday January 5, 2008

Bill Perrett

Pamela: In Her Own Right

Pamela Myer Warrender

Hardie Grant Books, $49.95

NO DOUBT THAT THE subject of this autobiography has lived an interesting life. How could she not, having been born the daughter of wealthy shop owner Norman Myer? She has met many interesting folk: politicians, tycoons, artists, socialites, aristocrats and she has travelled widely, all in interesting times. Her account, based on her diaries, gives all the details; maybe, sometimes, too many. But the real problem is the writing itself. It's pedestrian, fond of cliche and sometimes self-congratulatory. The better bits are those in which she airs personal resentments, as she does in the case of her father's second wife. She seems also to have had an unsatisfactory relationship with her mother, who, she says, was obsessed with material possessions and incapable of emotion. Hard to avoid the impression that such problems might come with the territory. A glimpse - no more - into the world of Melbourne's rich and powerful.

© 2008 The Age

Back to News Index | Back to Home