This Much is True
Miriam Margolyes
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. 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 hilarious stories. more
427 pages, Kindle Edition
First published John Murray
4.1
Rating
18953
Ratings
1889
Reviews
Miriam Margolyes
111 books 329 followers
Born in Oxford, England in 1941 & educated at Newnham College, Cambridge, Miriam Margolyes is a veteran of stage and screen, an award-winning actress who achieved success on both sides of the Atlantic. Winner of the BAFTA Best Supporting Actress award in 1993 for The Age of Innocence, she also received Best Supporting Actress at the 1989 LA Critics Circle Awards for her role in Little Dorrit and a Sony Radio Award for Best Actress in 1993 for her unabridged recording of ‘Oliver Twist’. She was the voice of the Matchmaker in Mulan & Fly, the mother dog, in Babe.Her voice work has been internationally acclaimed & she is regarded as the most accomplished female voice in Britain: she has recorded many audio books including Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, Alice in Wonderland & Alice Through the Looking-Glass, Matilda, Pinnocchio, The Worst Witch series, The Queen & I (one of the best-selling audio books in the world) The Little White Horse, The Sea, Troy & Wise Child ).
Community reviews
Miriam Margolyes is, by her own admission, a show off, an attention seeker and an exhibitionist. She says, I hope people will like me, but if they don’t, I want them to notice me. Anyone who has watched her interviews on British television knows what a ‘potty mouth’ she has. American tv wouldn’t allow the language she uses. She finds America a prudish country. more
It should 3. 5 stars maybe. It's odd isn't it, that when you've enjoyed someone's work and see their autobiography, you'd think you'd love it. I'm afraid it put me off reading any more about Ms Margolyes. The fact that she won't care what I think is just fine. more
Any fans of Miriam know this is going to be an absolute hoot and it really is. My first laugh out loud moment was page 2 and this continued at odd funny moments throughout. Great insight into her university time, her radio work, voiceover. I suspect most of us will pick this up to see what on earth she'll say that's shocking in print and believe me this does not disappoint and is littered with comic shocking genius. I won't spoil a word as it wouldn't give her words justice. more
I love Miriam. I saw her interview with Graham Norton, and listened to her appearance on Louis Theroux’s wonderful podcast and I worried that she might have shared all her best stories already, but this was so enjoyable and so well written and there were *so* many more stories. And to hear it read by Miriam herself on Audible was an extra special treat. Yes, there are C-bombs and F-bombs so you won’t be disappointed on that front, but she also recounts very emotional moments with genuine and touching honesty. I see there’s 1 star review…I bet it’s from one of those Footlights guys (although she says Graham Garden apologised and I see there was an apology of sorts from Bill Oddie on Twitter). more
“Happily, my teenage years behind me, I went to university and there I realised that I had a spark of something that was more valuable than beauty: I had energy, and energy is always attractive. ”If you have seen Miriam's infamous interviews, particularly the Graham Norton ones, you'll have an idea what to expect from this book, in a sense at least. There is lots of cheeky humour, startling confessions, sexual escapades etc. But there is a lot more to it too. I really felt like I had a sense of her as a person by the time I finished listening, and while I was already a fan, this really cemented that. more
It's pretty much Miriam telling you about different men she's 'sucked off' or offered to 'suck off' in each chapter. more
I'm so conflicted by this book. On one hand, I adore Miriam and couldn't wait to get my hands on this. She's lead such an extraordinary life and it was genuinely interesting to read about. On the other hand, in spite of this book being relatively short, I did find myself becoming bored during a number of the stories. I enjoyed the parts about Miriam's film career and found the retelling of her childhood compelling, but so many stories about the people she has met along the way felt like unnecessary waffle. more
Wow, well, this was some book (and no, not in a good way. )Overweight, mouthy narcissist seeks whole world to suck their dick, drop their name and publicly kiss their arse or revile them. Margolyes is a walking contradiction. She says one thing then does the opposite. The only thing she is consistent in, is her self-congratulation and her seeming willingness to handle men's cocks. more
I must be honest: I didn't finish the book, finding it sometimes boring, completely unfiltered, and suffering from a case of "overshare". About halfway through, I skipped around and chose chapters I thought might be more engaging. I'm not sure what I'd expected, but its rawness surprised me. I'm not a prude by any means. BUT, did I have to know how many men she had "sucked off" (her words) throughout her high school and university years. more
Seriously. No filters. NO filters. I can’t emphasise that enough because some will read this and be astonished how, er, willing she has been to help out chaps in need. For someone whose sexual direction is not men, she seems to regard “helping them out” as a functional act. more
I hope people will like me, but it they don't, I want them to notice me. On the basis of this memoir, I'd say that Miriam Margolyes has achieved her goal. This extremely talented, hilarious, colorful (sometimes vulgar), forthright octogenarian has been large and in charge since childhood. It's impossible for others not to notice her and, once they do, most like her a great deal indeed; the Queen of England being a notable exception to the rule. This book won't be everyone's cup of tea. more
I loved this book read beautifully and outrageously by Miriam, an amazing woman who is an example to us all. She does not hold back with her stories or her views on everyone and everything and is happy to tell us when someone was or is wonderful or equally when they are horrible or even evil people. Very enlightening. The only sadness is that she has lost so many close friends and family now which is the problem with loving a long life. I hope we have Miriam in our lives for many more years. more
I’m giving this a tentative 3 stars, and know that my review may prove to be a touch controversial…Margolyes has undeniably led an incredibly full and interesting life. I was desperate to pick up a copy and read it; but when I saw the audiobook available, I couldn’t help myself. I dived straight in, shelving my other current reads. To begin with, it was fascinating to read about a life so vastly different from my own. I loved the family history, the stories from her childhood, and the exploration of her Jewish roots. more
This is a fun biography of successful actress Miriam Margoyles. I have not watched a lot of the the actresses work but have always found her television interviews honest and fun so expected an entertaining read. Well I certainly got that and a lot more, I found it interesting to read about her unconventional upbringing and college days. For anyone who has watched her interviews on the Graham Norton show know exactly what to expect, honest, funny tales with nothing held back. In my opinion the book was better than I expected, I was concerned it may be too over the top with saucy recants but like I say it was much more than that. more
Delightful memoir from one of the greatest character actresses of all time. If you aren't familiar with the name, think of Professor Sprout in Harry Potter, Mother Mildred in Call the Midwife, Lady White Adder in the Black Adder. Her list of accomplishments would fill pages and pages. She is honest, irreverent, loving, bawdy, profane, and an absolute delight. Be sure to listen to her on audible. more
It might but true but it’s vulgar and boring. It strange that an educated woman would think that constantly writing about who she ‘sucked off’ and ‘tossed off’ would be something that people would be interested in. I think Miriam will have lost lots of fans as the jolly, straight talking actress comes across as a vulgar, conceited and nasty woman. . more
In the words of Stephen Fry (and probably everyone who ever interacted with Ms Margolyes): “Oh Miriam. ”This was fantastic. Like most people my age I know Miriam Margolyes from Harry Potter and The Graham Norton Show. She is brilliant in both. In her autobiography, we learn lots more about her background, her family, her Jewish roots, her education … and it is fascinating and wonderfully narrated. more
What a way to start the year. I bought myself this book for Christmas 'bookflood' and have been reading it with great joy through the whole holiday season. Miriam is hilarious, raunchy, sharp and shameless. She spills ALL the tea on the various celebs and actors she has worked with over the years, and takes no prisoners. The chapters are short, succinct and organised beautifully by theme with the occasional nod to chronology so you feel by the end that you really have absorbed her WHOLE life, everything and everyone she's ever loved. more
There's a lot I could say about this book, but I feel like it has taken up enough of my life as it is. In short. Skimmed from about half way. I'd say I enjoyed about 3 chapters in total. Just found it unbearably boring. more
This is not a funny book, if anything, it's mostly a sad book. Not that I didn't laugh at some bits, but nothing like the interviews she gives, if that's what you're expecting. Didn't expect to get bored, but I did. And a lot. Her politics are admirable. more
While reading the book, I kept thinking that it was really something to pass on to her therapist, if she was still seeing one, rather than publishing it for all to read. I enjoyed quite a bit of what I read, found much of it fascinating, but was also concerned about things too. I felt there needed to be more work with a therapist about her unsettling relationship with her unbalanced mother. It was too intense, too intimate, and bordered on incest. Her mother's exhibitionism, narcissism and emotional instability was encouraged in the daughter. more
I've been such a fan of Miriam for a while now and this book was really a lot better than I expected and I'm glad i did. Miriam goes through her entire life story and also her career in Radio, Television and Film that she has been involved in. It has been such an extraordinary life that this woman who's been unapologetically herself and hasn't changed at all which is what i made me like her and continue to like her. I've really only known her for the role of Professor Sprout in Harry potter which she is high recognised from but i also found out a few other things that i've seen that she has also been in and so many more new things that I would like to try and find and see. She holds nothing back and if you have seen her Graham Norton interviews you would know what you would have in store and boy her stories are some interesting and will have you in stitches. more
This was almost a DNF for me. I started skipping the long, rambling, name-droppy chapters and decided I'd only read the bit about Romeo + Juliet (one of my favourite films) before putting it down. However, things did get more interesting towards the end of the book when she starts talking about her relationship to Jewishness, her politics, and her feelings about getting older. If only the rest of the book had more of these personal insights instead of endless pages about the minutiae of voice-over work. Well, that and "sucking off", a phrase I'd be happy to never hear again after reading about it on every other page of this. more
I *almost never* give five star reviews to memoirs written by stars because they are (a) almost never written by them and (b) almost never truly a memoir in the true sense. This book is different. I interviewed Miriam for my Salon (the podcast is online) and for my Big Scottish Book Club TV show (you can find it on BBC iplayer). Both times she revealed depths which are often concealed by her frankness and hilarity. All of which are part of who she is. more
'This Much is True' (2021) - is the autobiography of renowned, now octogenarian and near 'national treasure' film, TV, radio, stage actress and voiceover/audio book artist Miriam Margolyes. 'This Much' does what it says on the tin - taking us more of less chronologically, from there to here, from young to old etc. and is told with Margolyes customary vigour, candour and honesty. As you'd expect, this is an autobiography which is both amusing and entertaining as well as often fairly sexually explicit - this is after all Miriam Margoyles, so we'd expect nothing less. Having been lucky enough to see Margoyles on stage in 'Dickens' Women' many years ago and having been aware of her huge body of work over the years, I am undoubtedly a fan, but found myself somewhat underwhelmed by 'This Much'. more
I chose to listen to this instead of read it. Because there is no better story teller than Miriam Margolyes herself. She is laugh out loud funny, while being totally honest, earnest and poignant. It's a lovely tribute to her family. There are truly beautiful sentiments about friendship, love, age, and death. more
Parts of this are excellent (her early life, her relationship with her partner) but the rest became tiresome and repetitive. If I had to read one more story about her sucking or tossing someone off I would have flung the book as far away as I could manage. more
A delight from start to finish. Miriam Margolyes is a wise and wonderful woman. A joyful read. more
If you're a Miriam Margolyes fan - and I have been ever since her scene stealing Nurse in Romeo & Juliet - you'll very likely enjoy this collection of anecdotes, gossip and cheerful thoughts, mixed as usual with a lot of blunt judgment and spicy language. I found very quickly that I was "hearing" the book in my head as if Miriam was reading it to me in that wonderful voice and with all those delicious mannerisms. It became my own personal (very one-sided) conversation with one of the most outspoken and outrageously, endearingly funny characters of our time. In fact as I read the last few words where she talks of her own coming passing, I was very sad, realising that we'd soon be losing her and her caustic, but honest wit. It does help to know something of the stage and screen personalities she mentions - there are rather a lot of them and at times it feels like a who's who of British acting. more
Oh dear. They say “never meet your heroes. ”While Miriam wasn’t a hero of mine, I did admire her from afar. And I dearly wish I hadn’t read this autobiography. She comes across as conceited, mean spirited, and overall one of the nastiest character assassins I have ever have the misfortune to encounter. more