My mother, Barbara van der Zee, who has died aged 88, was a journalist and author who wrote about fashion, history, plant medicine and nutrition. Despite many sadnesses in her life, including the death of her younger daughter from leukaemia in 1992, her lovely smile and enthusiasm for life and her family were a source of infectious happiness for everyone who knew her.
She was born in Chipping Campden in the Cotswolds, the youngest of five children of the artist FL Griggs and his wife, Nina (nee Muir). After studying English literature at Birmingham University, Barbara began work at Vogue under Audrey Withers, moved on to the Express and the London Evening Standard, and then became fashion editor at the Daily Mail.
