This book was started as a memoir of my mother and subsequently developed into something more like a diary, covering my recollections of a postwar childhood in Worcestershire, an art-school education and subsequent obsessions. It may be read in the light, or perhaps one should say in the shadow, of its political history.º So begins an irresistible sequence of reflections by Tess Jaray ra. Whether providing insights into the mind of an artist, or recounting the eccentricities of her singular childhood, The Blue Cupboard is a consistently characterful, humorous and life-affirming piece of writing. Jaray is a painter and printmaker whose work is characterised by the enigmatic interaction of forms and colours. In 2010 she published a book of her collected writings, Painting: Mysteries and Confessions (RA publications). She has also created imagery to accompany the work of W. G. Sebald. She has artworks in many public collections, including the Tate and the British Museum, and her paving designs can be seen in Centenary Square, Birmingham, St Mary’s Church, Nottingham, and the forecourt of Victoria Station.