Life's Too Short to Stuff a Champignon ; La Vie Francaise Shirley Conran's Love Affair with France Began When She Was 14, Continued Through Three Marriages, and Inspired Her to Write Superwoman. She Bought Two Houses There, and Though a Medical Nightmare Forced Her Home, She Tells Jane Slade That the Memories Linger On

Daily Mail › July 09, 2006

Linked as:

Summary

When Shirley Conran wrote Superwoman, her bestselling self- empowerment manual, she coined the immortal phrase, 'Life's too short to stuff a mushroom'. Published in 1975, the book explains how to maximise your work-life balance, Shirley-style. A case not so much of having it all but doing it all. She also admitted - on behalf of all women everywhere - that, as a domestic goddess, she would rather lie on a sofa than sweep underneath it.

Her books made her rich enough to restore an impressive 10th- century French chteau in the heart of Seillans, in Provence, which the guidebooks classify as one of the most beautiful villages in France. Set amid cobbled streets, with rustic portals, shaded courts and ancient fountains, it was a crumbling wreck when she moved in - hence the price of just Pounds 4,000.

See the full content of this document

Extract

Life's Too Short to Stuff a Champignon ; La Vie Francaise Shirley Conran's Love Affair with France Began When She Was 14, Continued Through Three Marriages, and Inspired Her to Write Superwoman. She Bought Two Houses There, and Though a Medical Nightmare Forced Her Home, She Tells Jane Slade That the Memories Linger On

Fifteen years later, and hundreds of thousands of pounds poorer, Shirley was forced to sell it at a loss because of her declining health.

Debilitated by an allergic reaction to her hormonal replacement therapy, the ME that had also blighted her life for years had worsened to the point where she needed to resettle back home in the UK.

'It broke my heart,' she says. 'I had put everything into it, but I walked out with just a lampshade and an attachE case.' She sold it in 2002 for Pounds 300,000 for a quick sale, throwing in all the furnit...

See the full content of this document