"Deeply satisfying, unexpectedly moving. ...As lovable as the duchess herself. ...In Duchess Goldblatt's digital neighborhood, people are not just welcome but completely adored. ...Duchess and Anonymous subtly, slowly become one person. She no longer feels alone; neither do her subjects. People find solace in this fictional character—and Anonymous does, too." — Julie Klam, New York Times Book Review
"There's no recipe for Duchess Goldblatt tweets, but they often amount to one part conventional wisdom and two parts surrealism, with some grandmotherly tenderness or saltiness sprinkled in for good measure...Her feed is one of the few places on the internet devoted to spreading unadulterated joy. It's also a successful example of social media literature, due in part to Duchess's voice, which requires readers to confront the ridiculousness of the entire premise alongside the sincerity of her musings. ... Becoming Duchess Goldblatt recontextualizes the Twitter account as a therapeutic exercise." — Kate Dwyer, New York Times
"Uplifting." — People, "The Best New Books"
"Quite possibly the greatest book ever to be born from a pseudonymous Twitter account, this nonfiction gem is written by a reclusive real-life writer who created a wise, enchanting online persona for herself. ... Duchess Goldblatt wants the world to be a better place; by the time you’ve finished this moving, funny memoir, it will be." — Seattle Times
"The Duchess is a light shining in the darkness, a beacon for troubled souls scrolling through their phones in the wee hours of the morning. Her presence has uplifted her human avatar, even as it heartens Her Grace's ever-growing audience of 'loons' and 'rascals.' She might be an invention of social media, but—as the Duchess would say—her love is real." — BookPage
"A life-affirming memoir packed with hilarity and candid observations about life and love." — Marie Claire
?"A source of wry wisdom and off-kilter commentary...A testament to the powers of redemption, reinvention, and yes, country singer Lyle Lovett." — Christian Science Monitor
"Duchess Goldblatt has self-fashioned a persona delivering bon mots both witty and gnomic, all while using the internet itself as an aesthetic medium where the product is constructed identity. ...This anonymous memoir delivers." — The Millions
"A fascinating memoir by a 21st-century original." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"A surprising, joyful story of social media at its best." — Booklist
"After reading this unforgettable memoir, I figured out who Duchess Goldblatt is: all of us. Behind her brilliantly witty and uplifting message is a remarkable vulnerability and candor that reminds us that we are not alone in our struggles—and that we can, against all odds, get through them. As though casting a magic spell on her readers, she moves, inspires, and connects us through her unvarnished humanity. It was, for this therapist, a form of therapy I didn't know I needed." — Lori Gottlieb, New York Times -bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
"This book is, like Duchess Goldblatt herself, nothing you expect and everything you need. It's a memoir not just of one life (failures and triumphs laid bare) but also of a second self—its creation, its evolution, its improbable splendor. We may never deserve Duchess Goldblatt and her magnanimity, but her inventor most certainly does." — Rebecca Makkai, author of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist The Great Believers
“What an unexpected marvel of a book, funny and poignant and—dare I say—sweet. It’s fashionable to bash social media, but without it, we wouldn’t have Duchess and that would be a damn shame.” — Laura Lippman, New York Times -bestselling author of Lady in the Lake and Sunburn
"Deeply satisfying, unexpectedly moving. ...As lovable as the duchess herself. ...In Duchess Goldblatt's digital neighborhood, people are not just welcome but completely adored. ...Duchess and Anonymous subtly, slowly become one person. She no longer feels alone; neither do her subjects. People find solace in this fictional character—and Anonymous does, too."
"There's no recipe for Duchess Goldblatt tweets, but they often amount to one part conventional wisdom and two parts surrealism, with some grandmotherly tenderness or saltiness sprinkled in for good measure...Her feed is one of the few places on the internet devoted to spreading unadulterated joy. It's also a successful example of social media literature, due in part to Duchess's voice, which requires readers to confront the ridiculousness of the entire premise alongside the sincerity of her musings. ... Becoming Duchess Goldblatt recontextualizes the Twitter account as a therapeutic exercise."
?"A source of wry wisdom and off-kilter commentary...A testament to the powers of redemption, reinvention, and yes, country singer Lyle Lovett."
Christian Science Monitor
"Duchess Goldblatt has self-fashioned a persona delivering bon mots both witty and gnomic, all while using the internet itself as an aesthetic medium where the product is constructed identity. ...This anonymous memoir delivers."
"Uplifting."
"The Best New Books" People
"The Duchess is a light shining in the darkness, a beacon for troubled souls scrolling through their phones in the wee hours of the morning. Her presence has uplifted her human avatar, even as it heartens Her Grace's ever-growing audience of 'loons' and 'rascals.' She might be an invention of social media, but—as the Duchess would say—her love is real."
"Quite possibly the greatest book ever to be born from a pseudonymous Twitter account, this nonfiction gem is written by a reclusive real-life writer who created a wise, enchanting online persona for herself. ... Duchess Goldblatt wants the world to be a better place; by the time you’ve finished this moving, funny memoir, it will be."
"A surprising, joyful story of social media at its best."
"A life-affirming memoir packed with hilarity and candid observations about life and love."
"A surprising, joyful story of social media at its best."
Narrator Gabra Zackman’s lovely clear voice and crisp delivery enhance this touching audiobook. Voiced by J. Smith-Cameron in an airy, warm style, Duchess Goldblatt is an imaginary character—an 81-year-old novelist—who becomes a beloved figure on Twitter with 25,000 followers. She is the life-affirming, aphoristic imaginary friend of the anonymous author, whose life is in shambles because of divorce, job loss, and a custody battle. The lonely author lives through her alter ego online and makes friends with Lyle Lovett, who delivers his own voice, and with writers and editors. Duchess Goldblatt is “a piece of paper that combusts and disappears”—but leaves the listener better for having met her. A.D.M. 2021 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Narrator Gabra Zackman’s lovely clear voice and crisp delivery enhance this touching audiobook. Voiced by J. Smith-Cameron in an airy, warm style, Duchess Goldblatt is an imaginary character—an 81-year-old novelist—who becomes a beloved figure on Twitter with 25,000 followers. She is the life-affirming, aphoristic imaginary friend of the anonymous author, whose life is in shambles because of divorce, job loss, and a custody battle. The lonely author lives through her alter ego online and makes friends with Lyle Lovett, who delivers his own voice, and with writers and editors. Duchess Goldblatt is “a piece of paper that combusts and disappears”—but leaves the listener better for having met her. A.D.M. 2021 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
★ 2020-05-18
Most readers who are active on social media are aware of Duchess Goldblatt, the acerbic yet warmhearted doyenne of Twitter, represented by a Frans Hals portrait of an elderly woman with a stiff muff around her neck. Over the years, she’s dispensed witticisms and advice to her 24,000-plus followers, many of them writers, without giving away any clues about the person behind the persona. When she finally met her No. 1 fan, Lyle Lovett (it’s a long story), he was shocked that she wasn’t "a little old lady or a gay man!” Now, Duchess Goldblatt’s admirers can get to know her still-anonymous creator, and perhaps the biggest surprise in this striking memoir is the fact that Duchess is a name (taken from a friend’s dog), not a title, though no doubt everyone will keep calling her “Your Grace.” The author created Duchess during a terrible time: She'd lost her job, her husband had left her, and she was tormented by the part-time separation from her young son. Duchess was a way for her to lurk online, but she soon found herself carefully crafting posts, responding to everyone who wrote to her, and finding solace in the community she’d created. The book is prismatic, moving among the author’s difficult childhood, the years after her divorce, and her growing relationships with people Duchess had befriended—only a few of whom, including Lovett, have ever met her. She wrestles with the questions of whether she and Duchess are two separate people and how Duchess makes friends so easily when she herself feels almost friendless. Lovett’s manager called what she’s doing “collaborative performance art,” and that’s an apt term for it; together with Duchess’ followers, she’s created a long-term fever dream of humor, compassion, wordplay, and dog photos.
A fascinating memoir by a 21st-century original.
