Sally Phipps tells the story of her mother, Molly Keane

When Molly Keane came to selecting the best person to write her biography, she didn’t have to look very far, writes Marjorie Brennan

WHEN it came to writing her biography, author Molly Keane knew who would be the best person for the job: her daughter, Sally Phipps. Most people would probably shy away from detailing the lives of those closest to them for public consumption, and Phipps was no exception.

“She asked me to do it and I was very dubious,” says Phipps. “Her reason was practical in one way: She wanted to put the work my way and she also believed I understood the very peculiar Anglo-Irish world in which we all grew up, which was a fading world by then. She also liked the way I write, so I hope that was a deeper reason.”