Home: A Memoir of My Early Years
by Julie Andrews
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Book Reviews of Home: A Memoir of My Early Years
Book Review: Bittersweet memoir filled with grace
Summary: 4 Stars
In Home, A Memoir of My Early Years, Julie Andrews reveals a difficult childhood in war torn Britain. Born to a mother with dreams of stardom of her own and a father prone to drink, she weathers the German's Blitz that ravaged London. Her parents eventually divorce and her mother remarries. Julie begins her performing career locally and eventually branches out to radio, music halls and eventually a command performance before the Queen (the youngest solo performer age the age of 12). Continuing to draw audiences Julie eventually accepts an offer to perform on Broadway and leaves for the US at age eighteen.
While her performing career was on the rise, Julie was not as secure at home. Even though she traveled and performed with her mother and step-father, her mother was prone to black moods and struggled with Julia's rising fame. Both her mother and stepfather had drinking problems. There are family secrets that could shake the family apart. Julie becomes the partial caretaker and support of the family at a young age and depended more and more on people outside the home to provide comfort and support for her. When opportunities to move on and go to America, these are the people who assure her that home will be taken care of, it is her time to go. This is a tender memoir that doesn't shy away from difficult memories. What makes this so heartwarming is the care she takes with her story. Clear eyed and honest, she tells an engrossing tale of a difficult childhood and the ability to find humor and good in those times.
Book Review: BY GEORGE, SHE'S GOT IT!
Summary: 4 Stars
Finally! The woman who brought life to the landmark musicals The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady and Camelot, and the woman who will always and forever be Mary Poppins---has written her life story. OK, so the book ends with Julie and hubby Tony Walton and babies flying first-class to California where Walt Disney (and a new book) awaits. Better than actually reading the book is listening to Andrews read it herself---the audio version of Home takes us through Andrews' parents' divorce and her early musical career as she traveled to perform vaudeville and musical theater, eventually financially supporting her mother and alcoholic stepfather. To listen to Andrews describing the incredible scenes of the London Blitz during WWI---at age 9, she was the only child able to identify the sound of German bombers and was charged with alerting her entire neighborhood---is as electric as it is eerie. There are wonderful anecdotes about wonderful friends and co-stars; the ribald story of Noel Coward at a certain "audition" had me howling for hours. As an extra bonus, Andrews reading includes original music by Ian Fraser and contains an enhanced CD with photos from Andrews' personal family photo collection. What is here is a richly detailed, poignant memoir, recounted in a voice as captivating on every page as it has been done on stage and on film, in that veddy proper British bent. By George, she's got it (down)!Book Review: Home - Almost A Love Story
Summary: 5 Stars
Whether as Maria Augusta von Trapp or Victor/Victoria, any role that Julie Andrews tackled assured her audience of several things: she would pour her heart and soul into the part, and, it would be a classy bit.
It is no surprise that her autobiography, HOME, is just as classy as the woman who wrote it. Although it stops with Julie Andrews on her way to Hollywood to make Mary Poppins, the parts of her life that were shadowed by her meteoric rise in popularity are now told in a clean, honest way.
Her childhood in England is discussed as is: the war; vaudeville and her early career on the stage in England. Without bragging, Julie Andrews enters the reader's mind as a dedicated, hard working and diligent performer who deserved to succeed.
There are sad parts as well: her dysfunctional family; a rather surprising introduction to a man whom she discovered was actually her father. However, Julie does not dwell on them or detail them with any sense of historonics or self pity. She is, and always was, a very strong woman.
I found her recollections on performing in MY FAIR LADY and CAMELOT to be of particular interest but there is not a dull or lagging part in this wonderful book.
Now, about the sequel . . .
Book Review: Julie Andrews's Unflinching Memoir Plumbs the Depths
Summary: 5 Stars
I came of age listening to the original cast recordings of MY FAIR LADY and CAMELOT, and my first glimpse of Julie Andrews was in snippets from the latter show on ED SULLIVAN. I fell in love with her crystalline soprano and crisp diction and have always followed her career. When I heard she was writing a memoir of her early years, I couldn't wait to read it. After the book arrived from Amazon, I devoured it in two sittings, staying up late to finish. In beautiful, unflinching prose she fills in the gaps I've wondered about over the years, giving insights into her evolution from a young English girl with a big voice to the coloratura toast of Broadway--a transition she made with grit and talent. Ms. Andrews depicts a childhood that forced her to leave school at 14 and support her family with her singing, but there's not a trace of self-pity. She also shares details about her vocal training with Lilian Stiles-Allen. If you're a Julie Andrews fan, you'll want to buy this book and immerse yourself in her memories. She's a "fair lady," all right, and still the queen of the golden age of musicals. Brava, Ms. Andrews, and many thanks! -- from Susan Dormady Eisenberg, contributing writer to Classical Singer Magazine & author of the novel, THE VOICE I JUST HEARD.Book Review: "Somewhere in her youth, she must have done something good"
Summary: 5 Stars
By now, most everyone who wishes to read this book knows many of the details. But to me, there are two extraordinary things that have become obvious about Dame Julie. First, she writes this book much like she speaks. It's as if she were reading it to me in her own special style. Refined, and with a well developed grasp of the English language. And yet, she has had virtually little, if any, formal education. Her mother put a halt to her tutoring by the age of 14, and she may have received an education that is barely the equivalent of junior high school! How did she manage that? Secondly, after reading about the performances for The Boy Friend, My Fair Lady, Cinderella, and Camelot, it is clear she had a work ethic that approached Herculean stature. Wow!! She has openly admitted that she wondered how she managed to get through it all. Sony Pictures has recently committed to do a film remake of My Fair Lady. The only rightful choice for the role of Henry Higgins' mother is Dame Julie. There are only two scenes for this role, and the last line for her is: "Bravo, Eliza!" Now, fellow Dame Julie admirers, wouldn't that just be ...."Loverly"? And do read this book.