I've only ever been once to Nairobi, Kenya, but I think I can say confidently that the life that author Pat Cavendish O'Neill lived in that beautiful country is so extraordinary that it belongs in a movie. And it was indeed this sumptuous, indulgent lifestyle of the rich and famous, mostly ex-pats, that set the scene for the film White Mischief, the story of the high-living Happy Valley crowd, and which culminated in the murder of Joss Hay, Earl of Errol. Cavendish O'Neill's life can only be described as charmed, but for someone who has grown up in Africa - even if mostly in upmarket cities - it's so out of touch with reality that I found myself battling, sometimes irritably, through its pages. But that doesn't mean it's not worth reading. Cavendish O'Neill's relationship with her lioness Tana, who she got as a tiny lion cub and had at her side for most of her adult life, is intriguing. And that's only one of the amazing relationships she had with a host of different animals, including the somersaulting chimpanzee Joseph, and Duma the cheetah. Today the author lives in Somerset West and shares her large home and grounds with 35 dogs, nine donkeys, 10 cats, 12 baboons, 22 vervet monkeys, eight goats, two bullocks, two pigs, 26 mice, umpteen birds and a chimp called Kalu, according to the epilogue . All the animals have been rescued, and that is perhaps what I found most interesting about her life; the relationships she built with the animals that surrounded her, which were in most cases better than her relationships with people. Her relationship with her mother is also fascinating. Cavendish O'Neill is the daughter of Enid Lindeman of the Australian wine family, a famous beauty who married four times. Two husbands were millionaires, two had titles, and none lived long. The author is a name-dropper of note - and why not if you had the kind of life she did in 20th century Kenya? She mentions everyone, from Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Princess Grace and the Hollywood crowd. Plenty of other famous Kenyan names get a mention in her story, including close family friend Beryl Markham, the aviatrix who was the first to fly the Atlantic from east to west. If you're into the lives of the rich and famous, spiced up with a touch of Africa, then this is definitely a good read for you. But otherwise it may just leave you with a bit of a bad taste, wondering how all the normal Kenyan people were getting on while this small group were having such a great time.