As Dolly, Laurie has been saddled with too many saintly attributes, but she makes her character an ethereal earth mother, giving her the weight to carry her head-in-the-clouds lines, and delivers a remarkable performance.

NEWYORKER: The Grass Harp

When his head is not in the clouds, the author runs a magazine for dilettantes called the Idler.

ECONOMIST: Meteorology

"I had my head in the clouds, was mad, neurotic and self-destructive, a very different character to the one you see today, " she said.

BBC: NEWS | Entertainment | Piper set to refuse divorce cash