Product Description

Julie Walters has been described as the nation's most popular actress and comedienne. She has been delighting us on screen and on stage for over 25 years and we have taken her to our hearts. Now she tells us her own story, in her own words. She was born in fifties Birmingham, daughter of an austere Irish Catholic mother. She was sent to school in a convent and from a young age always wanted to be an actress but to appease her mother she first went into nursing. This didn't last for long though and she soon went to join the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool. West End success followed, and she quickly replicated her success on film, earning an Academy Award nomination for her role opposite Michael Caine in Educating Rita. Julie's collaborations with her close friend Victoria Wood have given us, among others, the unforgettable character 'Mrs Overall' in Acorn Antiques and Petula in 'dinnerladies', and she's recently charmed a new generation of fans playing Mrs Weasley in the Harry Potter films and alongside Meryl Streep in 'Mamma Mia!', as well as co-starring with Helen Mirren in Calendar Girls. The winner of countless awards, Julie has continued to be in some of Britain's best TV drama and was awarded a CBE for her services to the theatre. A natural writer with an instinctive sense of timing, Julie's memoirs are warm, moving, painfully felt, fiercely intelligent - and totally entertaining.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-02
• Released on: 2008-10-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 336 pages

Review
'I was enthralled by her memoirs... a celebrity memoir which is actually worth reading as a work of literature' -- AN Wilson READER'S DIGEST 'THAT'S ANOTHER STORY is funny, evocative, reasonably revealing and underpinned throughout by an appealing sense of humanity.' -- John Preston THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'Walters's book - also well written - has moments of Alan Bennett warmth' -- Roland White THE SUNDAY TIMES 'This is a humorous and, at times, moving read from this much-loved actress.' WOMAN AND HOME 'The Walters who emerges from THAT'S ANOTHER STORY is a mischievous Brummie whose childhood seems to belong to an earlier century, with its horse-drawn milkcart.' -- Claire Armitstead THE GUARDIAN

Review
'I was enthralled by her memoirs.... a celebrity memoir which is actually worth reading as a work of literature' (AN Wilson READER'S DIGEST )

'THAT'S ANOTHER STORY is funny, evocative, reasonably revealing and underpinned throughout by an appealing sense of humanity.' (John Preston THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH )

'Walters's book - also well written - has moments of Alan Bennett warmth' (Roland White THE SUNDAY TIMES )

'This is a humorous and, at times, moving read from this much-loved actress.' (WOMAN AND HOME )

'The Walters who emerges from THAT'S ANOTHER STORY is a mischievous Brummie whose childhood seems to belong to an earlier century, with its horse-drawn milkcart.' (Claire Armitstead THE GUARDIAN )

About the Author
Julie Walters was nominated for an Oscar for Educating Rita, having made the part her own on stage, and starred in Billy Elliot. She is Mrs Weasley in the Harry Potter films. Versatile enough to appear both as Mrs Overall in her friend Victoria Wood's 'Acorn Antiques' as well as the sexy Wife of Bath in the BBC's adaptation of The Canterbury Tales, she is often cited as the nation's best-loved actress.

Customer Reviews

Entertaining, funny and just a bit rude
Julie Walters emerges from this book as two different, but complementary personalities. One is the fun loving girl next door with a gift for seeing the funny side of life: the other is the award winning actress.

As a youngster, she was the class clown, covering the social awkwardness of the working-class grammar-school girl with a shield of sharply observed humour. As an adult, she still seems to need the protection of a physical or social mask. This is a woman who feels an emotional need to wear make-up and takes a girlish delight in humour of the seaside-postcard variety.

It's not surprising, then, that one of this book's recurring motifs is the Greek mask - the ultimate symbol of the actor's trade. And it's a trade that she loves. Julie Walters is passionate, confident and eloquent about acting and, above all, about live theatre.

The book starts with an uneven account of Julie's childhood and teenage years in a mish-mash of odd memories loosely themed around the family home in Smethwick. The tone changes and becomes more readable and enjoyable once Julie joins the adult world and starts to pursue her theatrical dreams. It's entertaining, insightful without being navel-gazing, often funny and sometimes just a bit rude.

Most fans of Julie Walters should enjoy this, although her earthiness may be slightly over the top for some (possibly, older) readers. Those of us who only know her through film and television will certainly benefit from finding out about the theatrical roots of this remarkable talent.

Rating:
Age 0-16 (first 100 pages): 2 stars
Age 17+ : 4 stars
Overall rating : 3-4 stars

A Real Story
At the back of this book is a list of all the television and film work that Walters has done in her long and highly successful career. It makes for fascinating reading and takes several pages. This does not include her equally enthralling theatre work.

When you realise quite how much she has done in her career you also realise that a book like this is never going to cram it all in. This is the sadness for me. I felt that the first half of the book was a rich and leisurely journey through Walter's early years. Her childhood and her training ground as a young actress.

Then as the work rolls in and the credits mount up it all gallops on apace in a rushed manner and this I was a little disappointed in. She never loses the great quality of being personal and inclusive in her writing. You almost feel that she is having you round for tea and a gossip, but you do feel towards the end that she might be looking at her watch, wanting you to hurry up so she can get on with things.

I am hoping this means there is another volume in the pipe line. I wanted to know more about her married life, although I understand her reluctance to thrust her daughter and husband into the limelight. I wanted to know more about her work on Calendar Girls, given its stellar cast, it's true story and the fact that it was a very woman centric film.

So basically, good as far as it goes, but more please.

A slow beginning leads to a captivating, engaging finish
I do enjoy a good autobiography, and I much prefer autobiography to biography. Julie is undoubtedly a legendary British actress who deserves all the praise and accolades that have been heaped upon her during her career. I'd been hoping for an autobiography and was delighted to learn it was published.

Initially I found it rather a heavy read, perhaps rather slow to get started. I felt that Julie was finding her feet in a new (for her) medium of expression. Any such shackles were soon discarded and the book became very readable, indeed there were times when I found it very hard to put down, but I wanted to make the book last rather than finish it in a couple of days!

Having now finished it I feel as though I'm a close personal friend, but surely that's the sign of a well-executed autobiography in that it fully engages the reader by its conclusion?