Julia Mannering-Phipps, Gussie's mother in Extricating Young Gussie, sister-in-law of Agatha Gregson, was a vaudeville artist playing in pantomime at Drury Lane when Cuthbert first saw her. Pulled up her socks and did a lot of educative work, and with a microscope you couldn't tell her from a genuine dyed-in-the-wool aristocrat. Exudes dignity, like a stage duchess. Well preserved, with large brown eyes, a mass of soft grey hair, and the complexion of a girl of seventeen.

• Extricating Young Gussie