In My Shoes: A Memoir. By Tamara Mellon. Portfolio; 273 pages; $29.95 and £20. HOW to explain the global appeal of the Jimmy Choo shoe? The low cut sides, swoop of a vertiginous heel and toes pointed fiercely enough to have podiatrists licking their lips: all have added to the lucrative charm of "Choos," the luxury footwear brand co-founded in 1996 by Tamara Mellon, a British businesswoman. "In My Shoes" is Ms Mellon's account of the highs and lows of the teetering trade. It is enlivened by feuds and fallouts, with characters ranging from the reclusive Mr Choo to her "sadist" mother, her ex-husband (Matthew Mellon, scion of a banking family), her accountant, trust manager, private-equity partners and a fair few more. Ms Mellon seems to live on a permanent war-footing with half of the names in her Rolodex. Yet she possesses the acumen and instinct to create a global company, network shamelessly and conduct an exhausting social life. Her enthusiasm for drama and hard-edged glamour came from her late father, Tommy Yeardye, a rough diamond who helped build the Vidal Sassoon hairdressing company. Yeardye was the éminence grise behind his daughter's business career. Dealings with Mrs Yeardye, on the other hand, are about as cordial as family life in "Dallas," a TV drama. Mother and daughter ended up in a court case in 2009 about the mistaken transfer of shares into Mrs Yeardye's trust fund. Ms Mellon won the case and the familial wars continue. The most telling clashes are with the successive private-equity companies that helped Ms Mellon fund the expansion of her business. In 2004, with 19 stores to its name, the company was sold to Lion Capital for £101m ($150m) with Ms Mellon still at the helm. She diversified from shoes to bags; they sell for more and enjoy a higher profit margin. The Asian luxury-goods boom provided fertile new markets and by 2007, when Jimmy Choo was resold to another group, the price was £225m. Ms Mellon retained a minority stake. Yet she feels pressured, misunderstood and ultimately ripped-off by private equity and its "vultures," bemoaning that she is locked in a "custody battle" for "her" company, though her partners might well object that they were the ones carrying most of the risk. The cultures are comically irreconcilable - even though everyone is getting very rich. Between boardroom battles, Ms Mellon acquires powerful friends and contacts, helps run charity balls, supports women's empowerment and ends up as a part-time trade envoy for David Cameron. The product is no longer those lovely shoes but indomitable Tamara herself, by now garlanded with an OBE for services to fashion and charity. Beyond the self-regard is an object lesson about an alchemist who won applause, within the industry and beyond, by being prepared to fashion a brand out of a stylish product and female chutzpah. Ms Mellon cashed out of Jimmy Choo, worth £545m in 2011, for an estimated £85m. Now she is embarking on a new fashion venture with a host of well-known business backers. They can look forward to rich rewards - and a good deal of drama.