by Judi Dench
First published 2011
Judi Dench opens her memoir by reflecting on five decades since she first walked onto the Old Vic Theatre stage in 1957. She traces her journey from playing Ophelia in Hamlet to winning an Academy Award as Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love. Dench describes her breakthrough as Sally Bowles in Cabaret, her Tony Award win for Amy's View, and her iconic role as M in the James Bond series. She recalls working with John Gielgud and Peggy Ashcroft at the Royal Shakespeare Company and creating Jean Pargetter for the BBC series As Time Goes By. Beyond her career, Dench writes about her theatre loving family, her marriage to actor Michael Williams, and her pride in daughter Finty Williams and grandson Sammy. The memoir combines career highlights with personal moments, revealing the woman behind memorable performances in Mrs. Brown, Notes on a Scandal, and Iris.
Genres: 20th-century, autobiography, biography-memoir, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: memoir, personal-journey
Setting: Old Vic Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, BBC
Period: 1957, Academy Award, Tony Award
268 pages · Hardcover · St. Martin's Press