In 1932, she was created a Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire by King George V.īorn in Chesterfield, England, Olave Soames was the third child and youngest daughter of brewery owner and artist Harold Soames (1855–1918), of Gray Rigg, Lilliput, Dorset (descended from the landed gentry Soames family of Sheffield Park) and his wife Katherine Mary, daughter of George Hill. As well as making a major contribution to the development of the Guide/Girl Scout movements, she visited 111 countries during her life, attending Jamborees and national Guide and Scout associations.

She was elected World Chief Guide in 1930. Later the same year, at the Swanwick conference for Commissioners in October, she was presented with a gold Silver Fish, one of only two ever made. Lady Baden-Powell became Chief Guide for Britain in 1918. She outlived her husband, who was 32 years her senior, by over 35 years.

A gripping yet tender depiction of family dynamics, love and disillusionment, At the Table is about what it means to grow up – both as an individual, and as a family.Olave St Clair Baden-Powell, Baroness Baden-Powell GBE ( née Soames 22 February 1889 – 25 June 1977) was the first Chief Guide for Britain and the wife of Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting and co-founder of Girl Guides.

Set in 2018, Claire Powell’s beautifully observed debut novel follows each member of the Maguire family over a tumultuous year of lunches, dinners and drinks, as old conflicts arise and relationships are re-evaluated. Hardworking – and hard-drinking – Nicole pursues the ex she unceremoniously dumped six years ago, while people-pleasing Jamie fears he’s sleepwalking into a marriage he doesn’t actually want.īut as the siblings grapple with the pressures of thirtysomething life, their parents struggle to protect the fragile facade of their own relationship, and the secrets they’ve both been keeping.

So when Linda and Gerry announce that they’ve decided to separate, the news sends shockwaves through the siblings’ lives, forcing them to confront their own expectations and desires. To Nicole and Jamie Maguire, their parents seem the ideal couple – a suburban double act, happily married for more than thirty years.

At the table by claire powell