Warning: When I am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple

Review A poem that was to inspire two generations of women to contemplate behaving badly ― Mail on SundayThe most popular poem in Britain ― GuardianInspires us to embrace the freedoms of old age, and some dubious sartorial choices -- Allie Esiri ― Woman and HomeContinues to inspire with its humour... speaks to the devil in us all... Utterly charming and uplifting ― Good Book Guide Product Description 'Utterly charming and uplifting' The Good Book GuideVoted Britain's favourite poem, 'Warning', written in 1961, is known and loved the world over for its message of old age as a time for indulgence and fun.In the poem's respectable middle-aged woman, as she imagines herself in old age as a cheeky rebel with outrageous clothes and dotty behaviour, poet Jenny Joseph has created a character whose thoughts have been quoted at conferences and funerals, used to cheer up sick friends and remembered with pleasure by children and adults alike around the world.Here, 'Warning' appears as a beautiful updated edition with new illustrations; the perfect gift for a friend or relative who wants to grow older free from expectations, with a joyful and rebellious spirit. Book Description Beautifully redesigned with new illustrations, this is a gift book of Warning, the uplifting poem about growing older, twice voted poem of the year About the Author Jenny Joseph was first published in the 1950s by John Lehmann. Her first published collection, The Unlooked-for Season, won her a Cholmondeley Award and her prose and verse narrative, Persephone, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. In 1995 she was awarded a Society of Authors Travelling Scholarship. In 2006 her poem 'Warning' was voted Britain's favourite modern poem. She had three grown-up children and lived in Gloucestershire. Jenny Joseph died in 2018, aged 85.Lydia Coventry is an illustrator, designer and maker who works across various mediums from pen and ink drawings and graphic illustration to jewellery and paper craft. She studied Illustration at the University of Plymouth and lives in London. Follow her on Instagram @lydiacoventry.