Poetic Obituaries: Author Barbara Holland was a self-professed guardian

of indulgences including cigars, bacon, naps and gin.

During her 77 years, she had written more than 15 books of eclectic, often quirky range: a historical look at the appreciation of cats, a biography of actress Katharine Hepburn, two wry books about the presidency and a lighthearted book on jousting.

Before she died of lung cancer Sept. 7 in Bluemont, Va., she wrote a memoir of growing up in Washington in the 1940s back when it was "a serious party town."

from The Washington Post: Author Barbara Holland, 77

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