Animal Lover

A Love of All Animals

Lesley Blanch was an animal lover all her life, and occasionally rescued abandoned cats, dogs and birds. A magnificent toad would sometimes sit near the threshold of the door leading from the terrace into the main room.

Blanch would remark with a closed expression: “I get annoyed when I am referred to as a cat lady, as I love all animals. I have no dogs now as they require exercising whereas cats can look after themselves.”


She describes her new environment as being “reduced to minimalism. Although I possess nothing of value and my objects are not museum pieces, they are pleasing to me. Each has its own label – where I found it or how it found me; who gave it to me; and what it represents.”

Lesley Blanch’s surroundings were far from bleak and eclecticism reigned.

Lesley Blanch with her doves © Estate of Gael Elton Mayo
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