Child of the Happy Valley: A Memoir Book

Juanita Carberry spent her childhood in the 1920's and 1930's on a beautiful Kenyan coffee farm. Brought up by her father's black servants and white governesses, much of her time was spent riding and with the tame wild animals, including chimps and cheetahs, who lived on the estate. Although her mother was killed in a flying accident when she was three, Juanita did not discover this until, when she was six, a cousin taunted her with the truth. For this was the White Mischief era, when parents were busy partying and children lived their own hidden lives. But children cannot hide forever. There was school to attend in Europe and later South Africa, a different establishment each year, where she struggled to speak English rather than Swahili. There was finishing school in Switzerland, which she attended when only twelve years old. And even in Kenya the less innocent adult life began to encroach on her African idyll. At fifteen Juanita became involved in the Lord Errol affair: she is the only person to whom Delves Broughton confessed to the murder of Lord Errol. This is Juanita's story: a colorful and passionate memoir, which reveals the darkness behind the glittering White Mischief society.Read More