Oh Miriam!: Stories from an Extraordinary Life

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Oh Miriam! has been such a constant refrain in my life, said in all kinds of tones – laughs, surprised gasps and orgasmic sighs (I’m hoping for all of those from you as you read on!) – that it had to be the title of this book. And with a cast list that stretches from Churchill to DiCaprio, Dahl to Dietrich, Princess Margaret to Maggie Smith, I’ve so much more to tell you and so much more to say. I suspect Miriam may be one of those people you either love or hate, like Marmite. I am definitely on the "love her" team because I wish my mother (who is the same age) was more like her, yet I also wish I had had a partner like her at some point in my life. I find her so appealing, and (language and farts notwithstanding) wish I could number her amongst my small group of good friends. I would never be in danger of finding her dull! More often than not, multi-volume autobiographies fail to live up to the freshness and insights of the first volume in my experience. Not so in Miriam Margolyes’ present instalment.

Snortingly funny . . . deliciously unbridled . . . There is something heroic in her unruliness. Let Miriam take the lead and enjoy the show’RHIK SAMADDER, Observer Irrepressible . . . A life-enhancing rollercoaster of a ride . . . this book is like Margolyes herself – outspoken, ebullient and unexpectedly wise’EMMA LEE-POTTER, Daily Express

Books Multibuys

Oh Miriam! has been such a constant refrain in my life, said in all kinds of tones - laughs, surprised gasps and orgasmic sighs (I'm hoping for all of those from you as you read on!) - that it had to be the title of this book. And with a cast list that stretches from Churchill to DiCaprio, Dahl to Dietrich, Princess Margaret to Maggie Smith, I've so much more to tell you and so much more to say. Our naughtiest national treasure . . . famously filthy, funny and phlegmatic . . . Oh Miriam! is Margolyes's manifesto for a fulfilled life . . . She loves to tell it straight. And the older she gets, the straighter she tells it' SIMON HATTENSTONE, Guardian Oh Miriam! has been such a constant refrain in my life, said in all kinds of tones - laughs, surprised gasps and orgasmic sighs (I'm hoping for all those from you as you read on!) - that it had to be the title of this book. And with a castlist that stretches from Churchill to di Caprio, Dahl to Dietrich, Princess Margaret to Maggie Smith, I've got so much more to tell you and so much more to say. Readers looking for dirty laundry or juicy showbiz gossip may be frustrated. Margolyes hasn’t been drunk since a university sherry party in 1960 and isn’t interested in popular culture. She’s not permitted to write much about her spouse, Heather, though we do learn the couple have kept separate houses and bedrooms throughout their 54-year relationship. As an agony aunt, Margolyes can be starchy. Her advice to today’s anxious teenagers: “Keep clean, keep reading and travel while you can.” Oh Miriam! Contains the; humour, moral fortitude and unadulterated honesty that makes Miriam Margolyes, in my opinion one of our national treasures.

Snortingly funny . . . deliciously unbridled . . . There is something heroic in her unruliness. Let Miriam take the lead and enjoy the show' RHIK SAMADDER, ObserverShe is an absolute star on her own terms and there's no denying it. She may not have done it in the same way as Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave and some of the other "grandes dames" of British acting, but she is every bit their equal in talent, intellect and humour. Her acting is not the same as theirs, but it is no less stellar. That does make her, I am afraid to say, a bit of a national treasure in her own right. There is something heroic in her unruliness. Oddly, you wish she allowed herself to be a touch more serious at times, about herself and the freedom to develop her themes, but it’s unwise to have expectations around Margolyes. Let her take the lead and enjoy the show.