Hodder to publish Lumley's 'heart-warming' celebration of Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

Hodder & Stoughton will publish actress Joanna Lumley's A Queen for All Seasons, a "warm and fascinating" celebration of Queen Elizabeth II and her Platinum Jubilee. 

Edited and introduced by Lumley, A Queen for All Seasons will draw on first-hand accounts and special writings around key moments of the Queen’s 70-year reign, and take a look at the Queen's role as head of state as well as her private passions and public interests. 

Lumley is described by the publisher as "one of the Queen’s greatest fans". She will guide readers through the book as they meet Princess Elizabeth in 1952, aged 25, and about to become Queen, and follow the narrative through to the present day when, as the matriarch, the Queen keeps the national ship steady, including in moments of crisis and suffering.

Publisher Rowena Webb and editorial consultant Tom Perrin bought world rights through Anthony Goff at David Higham Associates. It will be published in hardback in October 2021, ahead of the Platinum Jubilee in 2022. 

Webb commented: "We’re thrilled to be publishing this wonderful book with Joanna Lumley. It will be a best of British celebration of our unique Queen and her seven decades at the centre of our national life."

Perrin added: "This book will cast an insightful and heart-warming lens on the most remarkable reign of modern times, guided by Joanna’s infectious enthusiasm and admiration for the Queen. I am excited and proud to be working with Joanna and publishing this book."

Lumley said: "For many decades the Queen has been the one fixed star in our firmament: this collection of memories, reports and observations is just the most satisfying and thrilling way of paying my own tribute to Her Majesty."

Lumley is best known for her role as Patsy Stone in BBC sitcom "Absolutely Fabulous" (1992-2012). She has published three memoirs: Stare Back and Smile: Memoirs (Viking, 1989), No Room for Secrets (Michael Joseph, 2004) and Absolutely (W&N, 2011), as well as non-fiction title In the Kingdom of the Thunder Dragon (BBC Books, 1997). Lumley also edited Forces Sweethearts: Wartime Romance from the First World War to the Gulf (Bloomsbury, 1993).