Vanessa Greene hosted her first tea party at eight, to a select gathering of stuffed bears. Since then she's trawled antiques markets from Portobello to Paris, Brighton to Buenos Aires, to build her teacup collection and feed her addiction to all things vintage. She still loves an excuse to bring friends together - but nowadays her guests are less shy about trying the cake. Vanessa is in her thirties and lives in north London with her partner. The Vintage Teacup Club is her first novel.