Absolutely - Hardcover

Lumley, Joanna

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0297864998 ISBN 13: 9780297864998

Publisher: Orion Publishing, 2011

Synopsis

The absolutely fabulous Joanna Lumley opens her private albums for this illustrated memoir The real-life scrapbook of the woman known as AbFab's Patsy Stone, this is an intimate memoir of one of Britain's undisputed national treasures. A former model and Bond girl, her distinctive voice has been supplied for animated characters, film narration, and AOL's "You've got mail" notification in the UK. She discusses speaking out as a human rights activist for Survival International and the recent Gurkha Justice Campaign, for which she is now considered a "national treasure" of Nepal because of her support. She has won two BAFTA awards, but it is the sheer diversity of her life that makes her story so compelling—early years in Kashmir and Malaya, growing up in Kent, then a photographic model before becoming an actress, appearing in a huge range of roles.

About this title

About the Author:

Joanna Lumley is an actress and one-time Bond girl best known for her role in Absolutely Fabulous.

Review:

There is a Joanna Lumley for everyone: there's beautiful angelic Joanna, hot sexy Joanna, Kick-ass "Purdey" Joanna, heroic single mum Joanna, comic genius Joanna and crusading Gurkha-saver Joanna. And thanks to her habit of insanely hoarding everything from bales of cloth to old wrapping paper, she has pictures of every incarnation, which are lushly reproduced in her immensely fun scrapbook-memoir, Absolutely. EVENING STANDARD Her beauty does not fade and her unquenchable spirit for adventure seems more apparent than ever. Joanna Lumley is, for many, something of a national treasure. In this new illustrated memoir, we trot through her childhood in Kashmir...to her days of modelling in the Swinging Sixties and her move into acting. Luckily for fans, Lumley is a committed hoarder so there is a wealth of fantastic photographs and press cuttings to feast upon. DAILY EXPRESS Mischievous and measured, Joanna Lumley gives us a remarkable portrait of a groovy life...Lots of facts, little hyperbole and a pervasive sense of self effacement, a very British talent for understatement and self-deprecation and (and this, in an age of vomit-into-the-void celebrity culture is perhaps what stands out and pleases the most) restraint...that makes this such a refreshing read...she gives us the facts - and photographs - from a life astonishingly rich in experience. -- Sarah Vine THE TIMES A full-page photograph at the begining of Joanna Lumley's glossy memoir shows the nation's darling in full evening dress, wearing a glittering tiara...crimson sash and gold star...The portrait captures perfectly the mixture of poshness and larkiness that has captivated Joanna Lumley's audiences...Tempting as it is to concentrate on the wealth of photographs, it would be a pity to ignore the linking text. Joanna writes beautifully, managing to be both thoughtful and amusing. -- Jane Shilling DAILY MAIL Lumley has done it all, from sex kitten and TV star to activist for the Gurkhas. Read about it here.' - No.2 of The Independent's 'Ten Best New Memoirs THE INDEPENDENT An actress with an extraordinarily varied life that has taken her from Kashmir to kent, from Bond girl to Ab Fab. It's all here in this gloriously illustrated, entertaining memoir, that's packed with personal photos and reminiscences. WOMAN & HOME Joanna Lumley's Absolutely is what Alan Sugar would probably call "a breath of fresh air in a world full of c***". Like Winner and Sugar, she has published memoirs before, and so this is a picture book, with words - thousands of pictures of Lumley as a child, a model, an actress, and as her dark ego Patsy in Absolutely Fabulous...She writes beautifully, too; unlike the authors above, she does not scream into the Dictaphone but respects her readers enough to compose sentences and read back over them when she has finished. -- Tanya Gold THE DAILY TELEGRAPH She's the glamorous age-defying star of stage and screen, who is famous as Patsy from Ab Fab yet a passionate human rights campaigner. But as her autobiography reveals, Joana's life has seen her fight through poverty and being a single mum BEST

About this edition

• Publisher: Orion Publishing
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0297864998
• ISBN 13: 9780297864998
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 272