Home

Would you believe there once was a time when Julie Andrews didn't enjoy singing lessons? The musical star recalls her turbulent childhood and the start of her career in an autobiography that takes her from her youthful experiences as one of Britain's last music hall stars to her rough transition to the legitimate stage. Andrews's voice still has the lilting, reassuring tones of Mary Poppins, even if her reminiscences aren't so saccharine. She comes across as a trouper, her love of theater and singing coming through in her language and the joy with which she reads it. Andrews gives listeners a fascinating look at the waning years of British vaudeville. J.A.S. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

Starred review from January 14, 2008
Andrews, who has written several children's books (The Great American Mousical
; Mandy
), both solo and with her daughter, now dances in a different direction with this delightful remembrance of her own childhood and engrossing prelude to her cinematic career. Spanning events from her 1935 birth to the early 1960s, she covers her rise to fame and ends with Walt Disney casting her in Mary Poppins
(1963). Setting the stage with a family tree backdrop, she balances the sad struggles of relatives and hard drinkers with mirthful family tales and youthful vocal lessons amid rationing and the London Blitz: “My mother pulled back the blackout curtains and gasped—for there, snuggly settled in the concrete square of the courtyard, was the incendiary bomb.” A BBC show led to a London musical at age 12: “My song literally stopped the show. People rose to their feet and would not stop clapping.” Her mother's revelation of her true father left her reeling when she was 15, but she continued touring, did weekly BBC broadcasts and was Broadway-bound by 1954 to do The Boyfriend
. The heart of her book documents the rehearsals, tryouts and smash 1956 opening of My Fair Lady
. Readers will rejoice, since Andrews is an accomplished writer who holds back nothing while adding a patina of poetry to the antics and anecdotes throughout this memoir of bittersweet backstage encounters and theatrical triumphs.

March 1, 2008
Andrews's memoir looks to be the first in a series chronicling this much-loved star's life, as it spans only her early years through her stage success in "Camelot" (1960). Her story begins in 1935 England, when she was born to an aspiring vaudevillian mother and a well-liked father who was a teacher. Her parents divorced, and her mother married Canadian tenor Ken Andrews; together, they performed in music halls across England. When Julie's voice was "discovered," she was made part of the act and began her professional career at 12, becoming the youngest solo performer at a Royal Command Performance. As her fame grew, she landed a role in Broadway's "The Boyfriend", and at age 18, her successful musical comedy career began. Celebrity-memoir-lovers will enjoy her personal anecdotes and her humor, but this is more than the usual tell-all. Andrews paints a detailed and evocative picture of postwar England and the life of a child star. A best-selling children's author ("The Great American Mousical"), she has never told her own story before. A highly recommended, welcome addition to the genre.Rosellen Brewer, Sno-Isle Libs., Marysville, WA

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2008
Famous singer and actress Andrews details her turbulent and often lonely childhood, unusual upbringing, and the difficult journey to her ultimate success as a star of stage and screen. In an engaging, chatty tone, she describes her early years, from the air-raids, bombings, and rationing of World War II, to her parents ugly divorce and her new life in London featuring a creepy stepfather and a mother descending into alcoholism. It was actually Andrews new stepfatherwho, despite his shadiness, encouraged her to pursue singing and a life in the theater. After years of grueling singing and dancing lessons, she began performing in London dramatic productions, and by the time she was a teenager, she was financially supporting her entire family. Andrews clearly and straightforwardly details the events and sometimes ugly occurrences she encountered along the way. It was a well-regarded London performance that eventually led to her first role on Broadway in The Boyfriend, which then led to herbreakout roles in My Fair Lady and, soon after, Camelot. Packed with anecdotes about other famous actors, including Rex Harrison and Richard Burton, Andrews book will appeal to her manyfans.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)