CATEGORY PREVIEW: BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIRS
message across: look at all
these amazing cult films I
produced! Englishman Deeley
will no doubt mix the traditional
Hollywood cocktail of sex,
drugs and monstrous egos . . . I
can’t wait!
Graham
McCann
Bounder!: The
Biography Of Terry-
Thomas
Aurum, September,
£16.99, 9781845133184
We all know
Terry-Thomas
as the epitome of the upperclass
cad, but this engaging
biography reveals the humble
beginnings as well as the
glamorous career in London
and Hollywood. The retro cover
is absolutely top hole.
TV and celebrity
Richard Hammond
Back on the Wheel
Weidenfeld, September, £18.99,
9780297855200
While still billed as an
autobiography, Hammond’s
second effort sounds like it’ll
be closer to an extended print
episode of “Top Gear”. Expect
many more globe-trotting
japes and fossil-fuel-guzzling
scrapes. Expect another surefire
winner.
Alan Carr
Look Who It Is! My
Story
HarperCollins,
October, £18.99,
9780007278220
The ubiquitous
comparison
with Peter Kay
adorns the
AI, but, unusually, this time
there is some justification. The
young comedian has a similar
line in warm nostalgia and oldfashioned,
end-of-pier humour.
He’s never off the telly either,
which helps.
Julie Walters
The Autobiography
Weidenfeld, October, £18.99,
9780297852063
Even Stevens with Dawn French
in the comedy actress national
treasure stakes, Walters’
autobiography is one that can
genuinely be described as long
awaited. From “Educating Rita”
through “Acorn Antiques” to
“Harry Potter” her popularity
continues to soar.
Richard Madeley
Fathers & Sons
Simon & Schuster, October, £18.99,
9781847370839
As one half of the “Saviours of
the British Book Industry”, I
suppose it is fitting that Madeley
has not just issued the usual
celebrity checklist. In its place
is this intimate portrait of his
relationship with his father and
with his own children.
Len Goodman
Better Late than Never: My Story
Ebury, September, £12.99, 9780091928025
Craig Revel Horwood
All Balls & Glitter
Michael O’Mara, September, £18.99,
9781843173212
Two of the “Strictly Come
Dancing” judges go toe-to-toe
in the biography charts this
autumn. But will it be avuncular
Len or pantomime villain
Craig scoring top marks? The
staggering popularity of the
show will ensure that both get
heavy exposure.
John Fisher
Tony Hancock: What Kind of Fool?
Harper, October, £18.99, 9780007266777
It’s been eight years since the
last major Hancock biography
emerged for another look at the
self-destructive comic genius.
The same author’s Tommy
Cooper study achieved 38,000
hardback sales a couple of
Christmases ago.
Performing arts
Cliff Richard
My Life, My Way
Headline, September,
£20, 9780755315888
The Peter Pan
of Pop looks
back on six
decades of hitmaking.
While
it’s unlikely he’ll answer any of
the burning questions about
his heavily scrutinised love life,
Cliff’s legion of loyal fans won’t
care a jot. Guaranteed sales.
Sheila Hancock
Just Me
Bloomsbury, September, £18.99,
9780747588825
John Thaw’s popularity may
have accounted for the majority
of the 700,000 sales of The Two
of Us, but Sheila Hancock’s
writing was praised to the
rooftops as well. The story of
her life since Thaw’s death will
attract tons of press and radio
coverage.
32 The Bookseller | 15 August 2008 www.thebookseller.com
Now that they
are officially
recognised
as the most
successful girl group of all time,
the Girls have decided that the
time is right for them to tell
their side of their story.
This lavishly illustrated
“autobiography and style guide”
will be filling a lot of stockings
this Christmas.
Strummer, Jones, Simonon,
Headon
The Clash
Atlantic, October, £30, 9781843547884
The first official book by The
Clash is this hefty, lavishly
illustrated tome. The band
tell it like it was “in their own
words” but it’s the photos, many
previously unseen, that will
ensure the healthy sales.
Michael Holroyd
A Strange Eventful History: The
Dramatic Lives of Ellen Terry, Henry
Irving and their Remarkable Families
Chatto, September, £25, 9780701179878
Master biographer Holroyd
(Lytton Strachey, Bernard
Shaw) returns with the story
of two interlinking dynasties of
the Victorian stage. Broadsheet
reviews are guaranteed and it is
Radio 4 “Book of the Week” on
publication.
Dave Simpson
The Fallen: Searching for the Missing
Members of the Fall
Canongate, September, £16.99,
9781847670496
According to Mark E Smith,
“If it’s me and yer granny on
bongos it’s The Fall”. Here
Dave Simpson tracks down
all the discarded ex-members
of the cult Manchester band
to hear their side of the story.
An essential counterpoint to
Smith’s own memoir published
earlier this year.
Luke Haines
Bad Vibes: Britpop and my Part in its
Downfall
William Heinemann, January, £12.99,
9780434018468
The splendidly misanthropic
frontman of The Auteurs was
present throughout the Britpop
era, while never really being a
part of it. Haines’ lower profile
means that he won’t reach Alex
Girls Aloud
Dreams That
Glitter
Bantam Press,
October, £14.99,
9780593061220
James-type levels, but this could
be the acerbic hatchet-job of my
dreams.
Literature and art
Jackie
Wullschlager
Chagall: The
Dream of Life
Allen Lane, October,
£30,
9780713996524
The author
enjoyed
unprecedented access to the
family archives when writing
this beautifully presented life of
the Russian émigré.Penguin will
be hoping that its heavyweight
“literary event” treatment will
prove as successful for Chagall
as it did for Matisse.
William McKeen
Outlaw Journalist: The Life of Hunter
S Thompson
Aurum, October, £18.99,
9781845133986
With several previous
biographies, two fat volumes of
letters and the autobiographical
nature of his trademark gonzo
journalism, Thompson’s life
story is not exactly virgin
territory. However, the
meticulously researched
content and a striking package
mean the fear and loathing
market is not over just yet.
Professor
Crawford is a
leading scholar
of Scottish literature as well as
a distinguished poet himself.
His handsome new life of Burns
looks set to become the market
leader in a well-published but
still significant market. Next
year is the 250th anniversary of
Burns’ birth, so interest will be
higher than ever.
Edmund White
Rimbaud: The Double Life of a Rebel
Atlantic Books, January, £15.99,
9781843549710
This slim tome sees the
distinguished novelist and
memoirist turn his attentions
to Rimbaud. The doomed love
affair with Verlaine provides
the spice but is only one aspect
Robert
Crawford
The Bard:
Robert Burns, a
Biography
Jonathan Cape,
January, £20,
9780224077682
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