Our Betty
'Threaded through with her struggles, the book shines with Smith's enthusiasm and idiosyncratic observations' Good Housekeeping 'In her brilliantly quirky memoirs [Liz Smith] tells the haunting story of her bittersweet pre-war childhood' DAILY MAIL 'The story of her extraordinary life ... in a series of magical snapshots' DAILY MAIL 'Our Betty relates a life as interesting and varied as the roles she has portrayed on stage and screen. This fascinating memoir is a delight to read' Waterstones Books Quarterly 'Typically idiosyncratic... shot through with shafts of broad comedy. The cover brings to mind a Battenberg cake. It's difficult not to gobble it all up in one go' Sunday Telegraph 'A delightful memoir... Smith never makes heavy weather of her troubles. In a series of apparently artless scenes, charmingly illustrated with her own comic drawings, she deftly deals with such traumas as losing her mother. The joy of the book is that Smith treats the impostors of triumph and disaster just the same, in her wry, idiosyncratic and down-to-earth style - which somehow reminded me of Beryl Bainbridge. Time and again she comes up with a pithy, beautifully observed vignette that stays in the memory.' Hugh Massingberd, Saturday Telegraph 'The blessed Liz Smith can have you chuckling before she's said a word... She has a wonderful and instinctive eye for clothes and fabrics - indeed for the whole texture of the past. ... These evocative scenes from Lincolnshire life are as good as anything in a Beryl Bainbridge novel. Liz Smith - Dame Liz Smith soon please - is our greatest character actress. Her genius is to give all these grotesques and cartoons a measure of her own perky, quirky nature and generous soul' Daily Express 'This episodic account of her life, illustrated with her own drawings, catches her early struggles well, while her actor's eye for detail constructs telling thumbnail sketches of eccentric neighbours, wartime mates in the WRENS, and colleagues like Dawn French (insists on large bowls of chocolate backstage) and Caroline Aherne (down to earth and modest)' The Word 'The nation's favourite old lady gives Alan Bennett - who's allegedly long been meaning to write something for her - a run for his money. Arranged in short, tasty bursts of charming, almost guileless prose... Charming, effortless, honest and tinged with sadness. As we imagine Liz is, it's slightly batty but utterly lovely' Gay Times, April Issue 'From beneath the rouge and plastic curls emerges a voice of warmth and humour. Her wit is not flashy but arises from its context and is often childishly absurd' Observer 'The beloved nana from The Royle Family tells her fascinating story' 4 stars, Heat 15/4 'Delightful and dotty book on memoirs. The evocative childhood scenes are as good as anything by Beryl Bainbridge or Stevie Smith' Roger Lewis, Daily Express Books of the Year 'Congratulations are due to Liz Smith -- the paperback edition of her quirky autobiography, Our Betty, has repeated the success of the hardback edition by entering the bestseller lists' Mark Sanderson, 'Literary Life' column, Sunday Telegraph 1/4 'It's like sitting next to her by the fire and listening to her bird-like voice singing away' Independent 10/ 'Enchanting, poignant and funny' Daily Express 2/3--This text refers to theDigitaledition.