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A Life of My Own Kindle Edition
A Sunday Times Top 10 Bestseller
In this remarkable memoir of love, loss and literature, acclaimed biographer Claire Tomalin turns her eye to another fascinating literary life: her own. She tells of a wartime childhood, Cambridge friendships and an early marriage to a brilliant journalist. After his sudden death in a war zone, Claire is left to raise their four children alone - all while leading a trail-blazing career in literary London.
A Life of My Own is the tale of a woman overcoming obstacles both rare and routine to live not only a good but also a meaningful life.
'A dramatic and absorbing survivor's tale' Hilary Spurling, Spectator
'Unexpectedly moving. Tomalin's story filled me with a kind of awe. Every page is valiant, every paragraph full of pluck' Rachel Cooke, New Statesman
'She has been tested in ways few women are. This memoir is a triumph' Valerie Grove, Literary Review
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherPenguin
- Publication dateSeptember 7, 2017
- File size21864 KB
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“Tomalin brings to her memoir a pro’s practiced ability at threading the personal, the professional and the contextual with details that sing… [She offers] a wonderful evocation of London’s vibrant literary culture of the 1960s and ’70s…An elegant profile in courage and fortitude.” —Washington Post
“[A LIFE OF MY OWN] navigates artfully between tantalizing revelations and unobtrusive elisions. I read the memoir twice in an effort to deconstruct how Ms. Tomalin does it, leading us into her nooks and crannies and then firmly closing the curtain at some point, but literary ingenuity of this caliber is always hard to pin down…The pleasures of reading this book are many…I hesitate to call this book enchanting because Ms. Tomalin’s life is strewn with tragedy…but it is certainly an exceptional account, daunting and inspiring at the same time, written with no end of poignancy, humor and perspective.” —Wall Street Journal
“In this memoir as in her acclaimed biographies, Tomalin lets the telling of a story reveal its own truth, unmarked by the moralizing of the soapbox. And what a story it is.” —Christian Science Monitor
“[Tomalin] is a master craftswoman, and it’s a thrill to see her prose and capacity for moving storytelling turned on her own life… If it leads you to read some of her biographies (Jane Austen is a favorite), you’ll be better off.”—Vogue.com
“An arresting look at a professional life inextricably entwined with the lifelong personal concerns of a woman who is also a wife, daughter, and mother…A quiet book, beautifully told with both restraint and generosity of spirit.” —BookPage
“An extraordinarily candid autobiography…This is an elegant, significant book.”—Kirkus Reviews
“[A] captivating and thorough memoir. Tomalin sets out to describe her “experience of the world”…a gracious, inspiring look at her family, colleagues, and friends.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
About the Author
Product details
- ASIN : B06XPQYPZR
- Publisher : Penguin (September 7, 2017)
- Publication date : September 7, 2017
- Language : English
- File size : 21864 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 343 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #317,502 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #20 in Women Authors Literary Criticism
- #36 in Women Writers (Kindle Store)
- #99 in Women Author Literary Criticism
- Customer Reviews:
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Top reviews from the United States
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A closer reading of the book partially debunks the notion that Ms. Tomalin managed to "have it all"-- marriage, children, career. Eventually she had all of those things at different times, but not all at the same time for long. When she was a married mother of small children, her career was far less prominent. When she was a widowed mother who needed to make a living, she had a career and children, but no marriage. The "secrets" of her success have been health into old age and incredible energy (which you're born with, or not), an ever-vigilant eye for opportunity, and an ability to endure very long stretches of hard times (and, presumably, loneliness) bravely and cheerfully.
Top reviews from other countries
Her understated account of her family life and her literary and professonal experience is also invaluable for young women in 2018.While the times may have seemed to change,women still need self-knowledge and courage to fit their desires into the conflicting roles they are expected to fulfill.Claire Tomalin is their mentor.