Which precursor to Bridget Jones would Helen Lederer take to a desert island?

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What Book... 

Author and Comedian, Helen Lederer

...are you reading now?

I inherited a fair amount of Penguin classics from my mother’s house and apart from admiring their vintage covers, I’ve just got stuck into The Conscience Of The Rich by CP Snow, about a young lawyer who is conflicted about his heritage but still has ambitions to thrive.

Saucy glimpses of early unrest in political and social circles makes this especially relevant to today’s political elites. 

Desire and ego wrestles with duty… Oh, and a nice little section about insider dealing in Parliament – delicious.

...would you take to a desert island?

The Girls Of Slender Means by Muriel Spark. This is my favourite of Spark’s slightly waspish novels. It’s set in 1945 in a hostel for young career women ‘of slender means’. She writes ‘few people alive at the time were more delightful, more ingenious and as it might happen more savage than the girls of slender means’. 

I love her understated social observations and the great one-liners: ‘Filthy Luck, I’m preggars. Come to the wedding.’

The girls are obsessed by weight – and this is a marvellous precursor to the early 1990s Bridget Jones calorie-counting vibe. The timeless wit and commentary would inspire me all over again that women can be sly and witty and have always been writing about the world we live in…

The book that taught Helen Lederer to reach for more than her lot

...first gave you the reading bug?

Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild. I particularly remember reading all her books best accompanied by a bar of nougat curled up on the sofa and maybe a tumbler of strawberry Nesquik if allowed. 

I loved the fact three sisters had been adopted by this benign but remote uncle, and yet they had to fend for themselves in a very glamorous but high-achieving sort of way. Exceptional inspiration for a young reader to get ideas above their station and still go for it.

...left you cold?

Mrs Beeton’s Book Of Household Management did not sing to me. 

You’d think that having the ultimate assembly of food preparation and household tips would offer a respectful resource of reference in these challenging times.

Perhaps there could be a few helpful hints to help avoid needless spends on detergents or processed foods? Not so. I found myself becoming a bit rebellious when being instructed how to behave ‘appropriately’ as mistress of the house.

Not That I'm Bitter is available now from the Mail Bookshop