When wealthy orphan Patrick is left to the care of his Auntie Mam during a cocktail party in the 1920s, he doesn't know what to expect. Mame is not the average aunt - she's progressive in all things and loves to do battle against a stuffy education system, racial prejudice in the suburbs, phony intellectuals and snobbishness in general! Meanwhile Patrick learns very rapidly about eugenics, Freud, speakeasies and how the word 'bastard' applies to Mr Babcock, the family lawyer. As he grows up, Auntie Mame lovingly interferes in his romances to his embarrassment, discomfort and an eventual learning curve. This novel has been made into a film twice, once with Rosalind Russell and then with Lucille Ball in the title role.