Not succumbing to beige is about wearing your metaphorical high viz vest with flair and panache—being true to who you are and what you bring to the world.

In extended essays drawn from her own colourful life and traversing the joys of schadenfreude, strategic gift-buying, the value of teeth, and lessons to be learnt from the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Frances Manwaring explores ground rules and tactics for avoiding the beige. Along the way she shares her wisdom and philosophies, with reference and deference to legends like George Eliot, Cleopatra, and Coco Chanel.

Self-deprecating and revealing, perceptive and funny, Frances Manwaring’s writing, like the non-beige approach to life itself, will lead you to unexpected and exotic destinations. A delightful and entertaining read about blazing a colourful trail through life.

‘Reading Never Succumb to Beige is like immersing yourself in a warm but invigorating bath and emerging afterwards revitalised and ready to tackle the world with a spring in your step and more colour in your outlook. It is wonderfully relatable, witty and inspiring.’

Karen McMillan, NZ Booklovers