Warning

'Utterly charming and uplifting' - The Good Book Guide

Voted Britain's favourite poem, 'Warning', written in 1961, is known and loved the world over for its message of old age as a time for indulgence and fun.

In the poem's respectable middle-aged woman, as she imagines herself in old age as a cheeky rebel with outrageous clothes and dotty behaviour, poet Jenny Joseph has created a character whose thoughts have been quoted at conferences and funerals, used to cheer up sick friends and remembered with pleasure by children and adults alike around the world.

Here, 'Warning' appears as a beautiful updated edition with new illustrations; the perfect gift for a friend or relative who wants to grow older with a joyful and rebellious spirit.

'A poem that was to inspire two generations of women to contemplate behaving badly' - Mail on Sunday

'The most popular poem in Britain' - Guardian

'Continues to inspire with its humour... speaks to the devil in us all... Utterly charming and uplifting' - Good Book Guide

Jenny Joseph was first published in the 1950s by John Lehmann and her awards include the Cholmondeley Award, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Society of Authors Travelling Scholarship. In 2006 her poem 'Warning' was voted Britain's favourite modern poem. Jenny Joseph died in 2018, aged 85.

Twice-voted poem of the year, Warning is an uplifting poem about growing older - now beautifully redesigned with new illustrations. 'Utterly charming and uplifting' - The Good Book Guide Voted Britain's favourite poem, 'Warning', written in 1961, is known and loved the world over for its message of old age as a time for indulgence and fun. In the poem's respectable middle-aged woman, as she imagines herself in old age as a cheeky rebel with outrageous clothes and dotty behaviour, poet Jenny Joseph has created a character whose thoughts have been quoted at conferences and funerals, used to cheer up sick friends and remembered with pleasure by children and adults alike around the world. Here, 'Warning' appears as a beautiful updated edition with new illustrations; the perfect gift for a friend or relative who wants to grow older with a joyful and rebellious spirit.

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