PMJ swoops for TV fashion guru Constantine’s ‘extraordinary’ memoir

Penguin Michael Joseph (PMJ) has signed Ready for Absolutely Nothing, an “extraordinary” memoir by Susannah Constantine, the TV fashion guru widely known as one half of Trinny and Susannah.

Louise Moore, managing director of PMJ, bought UK and Commonwealth rights from Caroline Michel at PFD for the memoir, which will be published on 29th September 2022 in hardback, e-book and audio. 

The publisher says: “If you think you know Susannah Constantine, you may be surprised to learn the truth. That she made her name as a ‘style guru’ from ’What Not to Wear’ is actually the least interesting thing about her. 

Hers is a tale full to the brim with extraordinary anecdotes. From lavatory dramas with Princess Margaret, to behind-the-scenes power struggles between Margaret Thatcher and the Queen at Balmoral... her social landscape has been nothing if not varied.”

These tales are underpinned, however, by life’s “darker side”:  her mother’s bipolar disorder, her father’s inability to cope and her own alcoholism. Yet she managed to forge her own life away from the expectations of others, PMJ said.   

Moore said: “I knew the moment I read this on submission that I wanted it for Penguin Michael Joseph. Susannah’s honesty and humour are irrepressible—and the stories simply stop you in your tracks. Susannah is one of a kind, in all the best ways. If you can’t find a way to sit next to her at a dinner party to hear her stories, then I urge you to read this book—it is the next-best thing.”  

Constantine said: “When I set out to write this book, I thought I knew what it would be. But the process of writing it has revealed so much more. With the guidance of Louise, I have had the freedom to recall anecdotes from my life: some funny, some painful, but all of them show that despite everything, I was brought up to be ready for absolutely nothing.”