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The final two volumes of the critically-acclaimed, million copy bestselling memoir series from the inimitable author, poet and broadcaster Clive James - a hilarious and poignant account of a truly extraordinary life.
About the author
Clive James was the author of more than forty books. As well as essays, he published collections of literary and television criticism, travel writing, verse and novels, plus five volumes of autobiography, Unreliable Memoirs, Falling Towards England, May Week Was In June, North Face of Soho and The Blaze of Obscurity. As a television performer he appeared regularly for both the BBC and ITV, most notably as writer and presenter of the Postcard series of travel documentaries. He published several poetry collections, including the Sunday Times bestseller Sentenced to Life, and a translation of Dante’s The Divine Comedy, which was also a Sunday Times bestseller. In 1992 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia and in 2003 he was awarded the Philip Hodgins memorial medal for literature. He holds honorary doctorates from Sydney University and the University of East Anglia. In 2012 he was appointed CBE and in 2013, an Officer of the Order of Australia. He died in 2019.
Summary
By turns hilarious, insightful and tender, the voice of Clive James defined a generation of writers. His memoirs, amongst the best-loved and acclaimed by any writer, are now collected in two volumes: his Complete Unreliable Memoirs. This is Volume Two.
'There can't be many writers of my generation who haven't been heavily influenced by Clive James' – Charlie Brooker
Newly married and graduated from the cloistered world of Cambridge academia, we follow Clive as he attempts to make his mark on Literary London, brushing shoulders with the rich and famous as he tries to secure a regular income – with mixed success.
In the end, it is television where he makes his mark: first as the TV critic of The Observer, where his weekly column becomes a national institution, and later as he moves in front of the camera himself and becomes one of the most recognizable faces in the country.
Rollicking through the end of one century and the beginning of the next, we follow Clive as he dives into the culture of TV during a golden age. He interviews Jane Fonda and Katherine Hepburn, Frank Sinatra and Françoise Sagan, Peter Ustinov ('even his nose could act') and Ronald Reagan. He explores the Paris fashion shows and the Louisville Kentucky Holiday Inn talent pageant, sends Postcards from Kenya, Shanghai, Tokyo and Dallas, interprets the news, discovers the first bizarre examples of what has come to be known as reality TV, and promotes the career of the irrepressible Margarita Pracatan.
Taking you behind the scenes of his years on television, and charting the course of his remarkable career, this is memoir at its sharpest and most entertaining – a fitting conclusion to a classic series.
'He will be seen, I think, as one of the most important and influential writers of our time' – Sunday Times
The Complete Unreliable Memoirs: Volume One collects the final two books of memoir from Clive James: North Face of Soho and The Blaze of Obscurity.
The first three books, Unreliable Memoirs, Falling Towards England, and May Week Was In June, are available in Volume One.
Part of the Picador Collection, a series showcasing the best of modern literature.
