They must all remember that they were in the public eye all the time, and that each member of the family had a part to play which might never be relaxed even at home.

Arabella and James are the Merry children: their parents make their living on television, telling other parents how to bring up their children, with their own beautifully behaved offspring as an example. Everything they do is a photo opportunity. But Arabella and James long to be normal; for people who like them for themselves. Most of all, they want animals of their own. When their father gets an unexpected legacy, it seems as if there might be a way out. Written in the 1960s, The Merrythoughts have their decendants now in all those families on YouTube and Instagram whose lives are laid bare to their fans.