This Much is True

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 "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 show more 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 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 show more 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 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 show more 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

Miriam Margolyes is one of those people up for annointment when it comes to being assessed as a potential national treasure. Part of the reason for this is her outrageous story telling on the likes of The Graham Norton Show, and it’s also partly the reason why she may not make it to the top of that particular podium for everyone. Having said that, the number one slot for her autobiography This Much is True (John Murray), would indicate that the majority love her for it. The audiobook seems the obvious way to go for this and was a lovely journey through her life, with extraordinarily graphic confessions peppering her story of family, education, acting and so on. I thought it was a hoot, and her honesty extends to exactly what she show more thinks of others she has worked with along the way, as well as her own foibles and quirks, of which there are many. show less

This book was made possible by the pandemic: Miriam had to stay in place in Italy for eight months, so what better way to stay connected to her friends and family than by writing her memoir? This was definitely written by Miriam—her voice comes through very clearly, including her frankness about more taboo topics (although for her partner’s sake, she tried to tone it down a bit). It’s a good one for reading a bit at a time, because the chapters are short and it’s not a strictly linear narrative. I liked very much that there were three sets of photos! I love a good photo inset in a memoir.

I recommend this if you’re a fan of Miriam, although I might not recommend reading a large print edition on the bus if you’re worried about show more people reading over your shoulder. I’m sure the audio edition read by her is great too. show less

Best for:
People interested in a very comprehensive life history of a well-known character actress.

In a nutshell:
Author Margolyes shares stories of her 80 years, starting before the beginning up through the pandemic to today.

Worth quoting:
While this was an audio book, this one caught me so I had to write it down:

“When people say to me ‘oh I never talk about money, religion or politics’ I say ‘what the fuck do you talk about then? Those are the things that matte!”

Why I chose it:
It kept popping up in my audio book app. I’m familiar with Margolyes’s work in Harry Potter as well as Call the Midwife, so thought I’d have a listen.

What it left me feeling:
Surprised.

Review:
What a ride.

I can’t help but compare it to my most show more recent memoir read, Pageboy. Both are written by out queer actors, and both share much more about their sex lives than I’d like to know. The obvious difference is that Margolyes is more than twice as old as Page and so had many more years of stories to draw upon. Margolyes is also settled into a very long relationship with her now-wife, though that too is a bit unconventional, which is always refreshing to see.

Margolyes has a very matter-of-fact attitude, and I can’t say that she is someone who I’d enjoy being friends with as she certainly has a ‘I’m right, you’re wrong’ approach to many things, but I did enjoy much of her memoir. I think she owns her own contradictions, which is refreshing to see - for example, she identifies as quite left and socialist, but also accepted the OBE from the British royal family and shares that she quite likes Prince (now King) Charles, and states clearly she knows these two things don’t align. At the same time, I’m also not entirely clear that she understands how problematic some of her past roles were - she performed in black face, and in yellow face - as while she will throw in a ‘not politically correct these days’ comment when referring to them, the reality is those roles weren’t appropriate when she performed them, either.

Margolyes starts her memoir discussing the births and childhoods of her parents, and follows a linear time line from there. As someone who is not super familiar with her work, I greatly appreciated that. She jumps around a little bit, and references stories she will cover in future chapters, but overall she starts and the beginning and brings us up to present day.

There are so many stories in here that name-check actors, and I cannot imagine what the legal review looked like. So much of it feels like the British actor version of TMZ, but perhaps it’s the accent and the fact that she’s had such a long career that I kind of didn’t mind? Like when she shared that she worked with many of the Monte Python men when she was younger and that they were basically all assholes to her.

I like quite a lot of this book, but I did need to address a couple of things that I found frustrating. She is clear about how she feels about her fat body, and for most of the book she’s very matter of fact about it, but she does have a chapter that specifically focuses on her weight and I found it fairly anti-fat. Obviously she’s allowed to feel about her body however she wants to feel, but her comments also apply to other fat people, and they are so negative that I just find it disappointing. She also very graphically discusses her willingess to engage men in oral sex. I think she has a quite healthy perspective on sex, but as I’ve said before, I’m just not interested in the graphic details. Frankly, if I never hear the phrase ‘suck him off’ again, it’ll be too soon.

Throughout the book one common thread is her deep pride in being a Jewish woman. She is clear that she does not believe in the religious aspects of Judaism, but belongs to a synagogue and partakes in the cultural aspects of the religion. She is active in the fight against antisemitism, and is also a vocal supporter of Palestine. The latter has caused some issues for her within her community, and she has a very thoughtful chapter in her book about this. Interestingly, she repeatedly talks throughout the book about how she wants to fight injustice and will speak out whenever she sees it, but in her Harry Potter chapter she didn’t mention the anti-trans activism promoted by the author of those books, and some further googling on my own has shown that she has made some disappointing comments on the topic.

If you do choose to read this one, I recommend the audio book as she does accents for everyone when quoting them, and they are delightful and unexpected.

Recommend to a Friend / Keep / Donate it / Toss it:
Donate it show less

nonfiction/memoir - octogenarian Jewish-Scotch-British actor known for her bawdy humor, written during 2020+ pandemic

wasn't sure what to expect from this author whose cover photo portends humor and who looks vaguely familiar (turns out she's Prof. Sprout, but she's probably better known for other things in the UK--she was also the voice for the mother sheepdog in "Babe", among other things). She doesn't sparkle as much on the written page (it drags at times but I think I would enjoy it more as an audiobook) but not bad for bedtime reading. She does dish out some dirt on other actors/directors she has worked with (there is a helpful index if you are solely interested in that) but reveals a great deal about her own behavior as well (her show more sex life has never been something's she's kep close anyway); I did like the chapter on aging--though brief, it's not something that often published in the media. show less