In her wonderful and very entertaining memoir, This Much is True, Miriam Margolyes OBE says that she knows she’s mainly now known for her hilarious and dirty stories on talk shows (here’s a classic Graham Norton example) and I have to admit that, along with her role as Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter movies, this is indeed what drove me to pick up her memoir.
Opening sentence: Suddenly I am eighty.
What a life!
And she didn’t let me down – This Much is True was such a delight to read. I really enjoyed finding out all about Miriam’s life and the breadth of her impressive career. Her memoir is also packed full of her now somewhat trademark crude and funny moments. There is no holding Miriam back and I love that.
She opens her book by saying she’s eighty now, so really, what has she got the loose? It’s her life, she can tell her story any way she wants and if that involves letting us know about all the people she’s sucked off (her words!) along the way, so be it. She is actually a lesbian but dabbled with men before she came out in 1966, and then occasionally later just because she felt like it.
Along with her frank approach to sexual acts (and her love of farting), she calls out people who have been awful to her (hello, Warren Beaty and John Cleese) but also heaps praise on her heroes to honour them in her book. It’s so refreshing to read a memoir that doesn’t shy away from anything and gives such a raw – and funny! – account of her life.
Without a doubt, the most important person in my life was my mother.
Miriam paints a vivid picture of her relatives and family life – her Jewish heritage, growing up in Oxford, her mother’s focus on her moving up the social-ladder and her quiet (doctor) father who went along with it all. She talks tenderly about her wife, Heather, who she has an unconventional setup with – they mainly never actually live in the same country but it works perfectly for them.
Stage, screen and justice
I’m not a film actress. Acting on film is completely different to acting for the stage. On stage, it’s all about talent. In films, it’s luck.
Miriam started off as a voice-over actor (her most famous roles being a chimp in the iconic PG Tips adverts and the Cadburys Caramel bunny – I still remember those adverts so clearly!) and did a lot of accomplished work on the stage. It’s fascinating to read about her love for Charles Dickens (and randomly, hate for Disneyworld!) and all the shows she’s been a part of, including Dicken’s Women.
She has had so many notable roles, including playing Madame Morrible in Wicked and was Juliet’s nurse in Baz Lurhmann’s brilliant Romeo + Juliet.
She is also open about her politics and opinions on her Jewish culture (she isn’t religious), you really feel like you get to know her as a person, rather than just an actor recounting stories.
When I see a wrong, I will confront it; I strongly believe in sticking up for what is right. Injustice offends me, deeply.
Miriam is a talented BAFTA award winning actress (for her role in Martin Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence) fearless, kind, clever and very funny. She sometimes has no filter and goes about things in a slightly unorthodox way but that’s what makes her so unique! She embraces life, takes all opportunities that come her way and speaks her truth – which is why this memoir is so engrossing to read. Pick it up and enjoy!
- Get your copy of This Much is True here;
- Published by John Murray 2021;
- 448 pages;
- Book review rating:
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