Miriam Margolyes memoir goes to John Murray

Actress Miriam Margolyes’ memoir of "extraordinary adventure" will be published by John Murray in September. 

Georgina Laycock, non-fiction publisher, acquired world rights in all formats for This Much Is True from Robert Kirby at United Agents. John Murray will publish in September 2021 and Margolyes will narrate the audiobook version.

“BAFTA-winning actor, voice of everything from Monkey to the Cadbury’s Caramel Rabbit, creator of a myriad of unforgettable characters from Lady Whiteadder to Professor Sprout, Miriam Margolyes OBE, is the nation’s favourite and naughtiest treasure,” John Murray said. “Now, at the age of 80, she has finally decided to tell her life story and it’s well worth the wait.”  

The synopsis reads: “Find out how being conceived in an air-raid gave her curly hair; what pranks led to Miriam being known as the naughtiest girl Oxford High School ever had; how she ended up posing nude for Augustus John as a teenager; and what she did when Warren Beatty asked ‘Do you f**k?’.  

“This wonderful memoir takes you on an extraordinary adventure through a truly independent mind and life. With a cast list stretching from Scorsese to Streisand, a cross-dressing Leonardo di Caprio to Isaiah Berlin, This Much Is True is as clever and self-critical, as warm and honest, as full of life and surprises, as its inimitable author.” 

Born in Oxford in 1941 and educated at Newnham College, Cambridge, Margolyes is an award-winning actor of the stage and screen, and an internationally acclaimed voice artist. Winner of the BAFTA Best Supporting Actress award for "The Age of Innocence", she received an OBE in 2002 for services to drama. 

She said: “I’m almost a virgin where writing is concerned but losing that virginity has been delicious. The past rears up; it both delights and frightens me. I’ve loved remembering and sharing; walking the tightrope between telling all and not hurting anyone.”   

A major PR and marketing campaign is already in place with the actress set to appear at many UK festivals this autumn as well as broadcast and print coverage under negotiation.There will be a major digital marketing campaign, radio advertising, and a social media campaign leading with a video series from Margolyes. The campaign will include close partnerships with retailers and opportunities for the author to "connect directly with booksellers", according to the publisher. 

“I have loved every second of working on This Much is True,” Laycock said. “This warm, witty book is a complete joy and I can’t wait to get everyone reading it.”