This Much Is True

by Miriam Margolyes

Overview

'There is no one on earth quite so wonderful' STEPHEN FRY

'As outrageously entertaining as you'd expect' Daily Express

BAFTA-winning actor, voice of everything from Monkey to the Cadbury's Caramel Rabbit, creator of a myriad of unforgettable characters from Lady Whiteadder to Professor Sprout, MIRIAM MARGOLYES, OBE, is the nation's favourite (and naughtiest) treasure. Now, at the age of 80, she has finally decided to tell her extraordinary life story - and it's well worth the wait.

Find out how being conceived in an air-raid gave her curly hair; what pranks led to her being known as the naughtiest girl Oxford High School ever had; how she ended up posing nude for Augustus John as a teenager; why Bob Monkhouse was the best (male) kiss she's ever had; and what happened next after Warren Beatty asked 'Do you fuck?'

From declaring her love to Vanessa Redgrave to being told to be quiet by the Queen, this book is packed with brilliant, hilarious stories. With a cast list stretching from Scorsese to Streisand, a cross-dressing Leonardo di Caprio to Isaiah Berlin, This Much Is True is as warm and honest, as full of life and surprises, as its inimitable author.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781529379907
Publisher:	John Murray Press
Publication date:	04/04/2023
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	60,481
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.70(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Born in Oxford, England in 1941 & educated at Newnham College, Cambridge, MIRIAM MARGOLYES is an award-winning veteran of the stage and screen, and an internationally acclaimed voice-artist. Winner of the BAFTA Best Supporting Actress award for The Age of Innocence, she received an OBE in 2002 for Services to Drama.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Daddy 4

Mummy 12

Enter Miriam 21

We Are a Fortress Family 25

Going to School 38

Oh, Miriam! 48

Families 52

Showing Off 61

The Facts of Life 67

Latin Lessons 75

Dinner with Isaiah Berlin 79

Nude Modelling for Augustus John 85

Miriam Kibbutznik 90

Cambridge 97

Adventures in Academia 109

Footlights 113

Saved by the Beeb 117

Swinging London 129

The Importance of Voice 134

Sexy Sonia 138

Women Are Better than Men: Discuss 142

Heather 150

Coming Out 157

Life on the Road: Fiddler on the Roof 164

Going on the Stage: A Masterclass of Sorts 175

The Joys of Being an Understudy: The Threepenny Opera 186

When a Play Goes Wrong: The White Devil 194

Getting into Character: Endgame 202

PG Tips and the Caramel Bunny 208

To Dub or Not to Dub 218

Banged up in Bow Street 222

Money Talks 229

Too Fat to Go to Bed With 238

My First Time on Broadway was … Wicked 246

Call Me Gert and Leave Out the Rude Part 250

In Therapy 260

Only Connect 266

Blood Will Tell 273

Two Spikes Would Be an Extravagance! 276

It is a Far, Far Better Thing 290

Taking America by Storm 300

Please Do Not Wear Shorts 307

My Turn to Fail 312

Adventures in Cinema 319

Working with Scorsese: The Age of Innocence 330

Romeo + Juliet 335

Would You Like to Go to Disney World? 342

Harry Potter 345

Down Under 353

A New Habit 361

Being Jewish 367

Choosing My Side 376

Speaking Out 384

A Right Royal Reception 388

Spliced 397

Getting Older 400

Dirty Talk 409

The Final Curtain 414

Acknowledgements 419

Credits 423

Index 425

Editorial Reviews

Gleefully outspoken and bursting with hilarious anecdotes, gloriously larger than life . . . I pity every person that is not me right now, drinking in the glory of Margolyes at 80—Eva Wiseman, Observer

Startling, thrillingly outspoken, provocative, potty-mouthed and exhilarating . . . THIS MUCH IS TRUE is never boring. Her personality is so likeable she can only leave you wanting more—Lynn Barber, Daily Telegraph

Reads like the Wife of Bath's memoirs—Simon Callow

Wickedly honest . . . When I was reading this book on a train, a stranger asked if I was OK because I was crying with laughter—Hadley Freeman, Guardian

An irreverent, straight-talking, riotous romp through an extraordinary life—Sunday Post

If there is a silver lining to last year's lockdown, it's the fact that Miriam Margolyes finally had time to write her life story . . . invigoratingly outspoken . . . gloriously shocking . . . and captures her force-of-nature personality. Buckle up, you're in for a wild ride—Charlotte Heathcote, Daily Mirror

Now 80 - and no less outrageous and outspoken, the actress presents vignettes from her life that will induce guffaws as much as gasps—The i

Blisteringly honest and hugely entertaining—Daily Record

Ebullient and bosomy—Roger Lewis, The Times

Stories galore . . . Miriam Margolyes has a life worth immortalising in print . . . An unapologetic account of a life well lived. As irrepressible as ever, Margolyes's warmth and wit shines through—Radio Times

Blisteringly honest and hugely entertaining—Daily Record

There's so much in the book; each chapter offering a tidbit of information both interesting and hilarious... It's full of life and vigour, as if you're conversing with a friend you've known for a long time—Irish Examiner

Brilliant stories abound in this memoir... which is honest, poignant and wildly indiscreet.—The Guardian

As compelling, forthright and irrepressible as its author—Choice Magazine

Miriam Margolyes' autobiography is crass, brash, rude, crude, funny and sad, and as delightful and surprising as Miriam herself—Good Housekeeping

As outrageously entertaining as you'd expect—Daily Express

Potty-mouthed and thrillingly candid, Margolyes's account of her career from teenage nude modelling for Augustus John to sexy voiceover work for Ann Summers to playing Harry Potter's Professor Sprout is a riotous joy

—Daily Telegraph

From the Publisher