Miriam Margolyes

Miriam Margolyes appeared at the Cheltenham lit fest in October, and although my friend and I didn't go to see her, I've always had a soft spot for her.

Whilst an accomplished screen and theatre actress for many decades, she's had a bit of a renaissance lately thanks to her outrageous stories on numerous Graham Norton talk show appearances, but I expect that's made her a bit of a love her or loathe her character. Many adore her for her no-filter hilarious, and often rude, stories, whilst show more others no doubt abhor her for much the same reason. I'm about 75% of the way towards the 'love Miriam' camp, but I do suspect she tells many a tall story to further this persona that makes her still bankable on screen despite now being in her 80s (and I can't applaud anyone for thinking farting in enclosed public places is acceptable behaviour).

Anyway, after dinner and a couple of cocktails, my friend and I were queuing to get a signing by Huey Morgan from 'The Fun Lovin' Criminals', and Miriam was finishing signing in the other corner of the Waterstones tent. I lurked a bit, hoping I could hop onto the end of the queue and get a book signing, but the Waterstones police wouldn't let me (much to my annoyance, after telling me she was much too tired they then spent quite a while chatting to her and taking selfies, but perk of the job I guess - mustn't be bitter!). She had pre-signed a stack of books, so my pal bought the two of us a copy each (we were sold by the funny illustrations inside which look like book graffiti with lots of comedy sketches of Marian's ample cleavage).

This is an A to Z style book, which invariably irritates me as a format as authors end up filling in ridiculous ways to fit the letters, but aside from the fun it also gives glimpses of Miriam's intellect, and at times I couldn't help but feel a little sad that she feels the need to recount (again) some of the more outrageous stories from her time on Norton's couch. Does she really need to tell us numerous times about the countless b**w jobs she gave young men in her youth in encounters that were almost transactional in a way rather than romantic? I feel it makes her into a bit of a caricature, when she's sharp, witty and interesting anyway. But, her choice, and maybe as she'd have us believe she genuinely couldn't give a monkeys either way.

This is not an earth-shattering read, but I did enjoy it more than I expected, and I think Miriam herself in the book sums up my feelings exactly:

RUDERY: This is a word I must have coined, because it doesn't appear in any dictionary online. I use it to cover the saltier strands of my vocabulary and story-telling, through which, thanks to The Graham Norton Show , I seem to have become popular. Potty-mouthed, dirty-minded, vulgar, even vile, are the adjectives I've inspired and I'm now refuting the justice of those epithets. There's more to me than filth; if all I said was centred below the waist, I'd be a pathetic old thing, but I'm fighting back... I hope I've proved I'm also a thoughtful, occasionally even wise soul, always stressing the most essential words - 'kind' and 'compassionate' - when I can. 'Rudery' should not be the last word on Miriam Margolyes.

I feel this is a just self-appraisal from what I read in this book. Margolyes is funny and outrageous, but this Cambridge University alumni is also fiercely intelligent and interesting, with a strong sense of justice. Propensity for farting aside, I think she'd be a fascinating person to have conversation with.

3.5 stars for the sassiness and savviness of this sprightly octogenarian - I hope we get to enjoy this British treasure for many more years to come. show less

Sometime around 2012 we were lucky enough to catch Miriam Margolyes performing Dickens' Women at Her Majesty's Theatre in Ballarat. A one person show, with pianist, written by Margolyes and Sonia Fraser, she commanded the stage, effortlessly shifting through 23 different characters, based on or inspired by 21 women and 2 men in Dickens' novels. An admirer of Dickens work, at no stage did the performance shirk from the less savoury aspects of his life, his obsession with youthful beauty, his show more "odd" relationships with sister-in-law, and, in Margolyes' own words from an interview in The Lumiere Reader in 2007 (accessible via the waybackmachine: https://web.archive.org/web/20080423234540/http://www.lumiere.net.nz/reader/item...:

"The characters are based on real women in Dickens’ life and where they parallel with his fictional characters. I love the contrast between the goodness of the prose and the badness of the man. His daughter once said ‘he was a very wicked man’ and no-one seems to know that but they will after they see my show."

That ability to see contrast, and a willingness to forgive some transgressions and refuse to accept others, is very much the Margolyes way. As is, one suspects, a somewhat cheeky attitude towards shocking others, and an unrelenting desire to tell the unvarnished, uncensored truth. About everything.

I had the great, unmitigated joy of listening to Margolyes read the story of her life, and blessed, as she is, with the elocution and vowels of much work (instigated by her mother), her voice is captivating, as is her ability to switch between accents at the drop of page. Her background as a voice actress and in voiceover work (including a stint in soft-porn), to say nothing of the more well-known (and very different from that) roles in Harry Potter or Fly in the movie Babe, provides her with all the tools required to do an admirable, and very engaging audio version of her own autobiography. Her life provides her with much fodder for the story itself.

It might be fairest to potential readers of this autobiography to point out a few things - if you come to this as a fan of Fly, or Professor Pomona Sprout, knowing little else about Margolyes, and you are likely to be offended by explicit sexual content (of the relieving of men kind somewhat surprisingly for an avowed lesbian like the author), then might be best to avoid. If you're also not a fan of somebody who calls a spade an f***ing shovel, you may be best to skip by. Margolyes is not one to toy with people's "sensibilities". She's not a fan of prudes, and she's not a fan of beating about the bush. One finds it very hard to imagine that back in the days of the Cambridge Footlights, that a particular set of very badly behaved men could not have known of their transgressions, Margolyes is not one to muck about if you've pissed her off.

I think that's what I loved most about this entire audio book. Here is a woman who can be bad-tempered, makes mistakes, swears fluently and enthusiastically (a woman after my own heart) and is totally and utterly unapologetic about it. She's also not in denial about who or what or how she's lived her life, and there is much in this book that goes to the heart of mistakes made, people transgressed against, and those who have transgressed against her. She doesn't pull any punches about just about everything.

And it is because of all of the above that I loved every sweary, pointed, ridiculous, contradictory, unapologetic minute of it - including the soldier up a tree. I mean if you can't live your life as you bloody well want to when you're Miriam Margolyes, what hope is there for the rest of us. All power to her, her walking frame, her beautiful eyes, her beloved Heather and her career going forward.

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/much-true-miriam-margolyes show less

Miriam Margolyes’s This Much is True is a wonder - filled with joy, passion, opinion, courage and truth. I devoured it. Now it’s finished, I’m bereft!
Her sheer humanity shines through every hilarious anecdote, every heartfelt tribute and even the (far fewer) denunciations. Her manifest rudery is somehow never dirty or offensive, at least not to me. I think this feat is achieved by allowing us to glimpse, every now and again, the unexpected, shy prude lurking in the wings. Though show more she’s never allowed on stage. Not on your life! What prude ever ‘broke the ice’, reached out, made connections? That’s what Miriam’s been doing her whole life long. Brava!
It’s not all laugh out loud (though much of it is). After visiting Auschwitz, for instance, she writes: ‘It left me feeling as if I never wanted to laugh again’. A sentence like that sure wipes the smile off a face.
Her passionate espousal of causes from the fate of the Palestinians and the promotion of the Jewish race (yes, both feel equally important to her), to the detestation of bad, corrupt or incompetent governance, is blazingly and courageously expressed.
Reading the book has enriched and emboldened me. show less

I loved learning more about her career (I didn’t know she was the caramel bunny for example), and the insight into the world of acting, be it radio, stage, or screen. While it did give me a view into the life of this bold and uncensored woman, and her experiences from an early age until later life, I felt it had a bit of a gossip vibe. That said, it was relatable when she spoke of family, of insecurities, and of participating in therapy. I could have enjoyed a little less of her oral show more sexcapades (but I won’t lie, it brought frequent giggles) and more of her openness regarding her maturing and aging. It covers a diverse range of chapters including current events that have become far more in the open now, such as the Israel-Palestine situation and the rise of far-right politics. (Two brief chapters). I especially appreciated her take on Judaism vs Zionist. I see she released another memoir in 2023 and I feel like it’s going to be read at some point in the future. Perhaps that one will have more of the later in life content. Like her or not, she’s definitely memorable and unapologetically herself. show less