First published 2008
Julie Andrews opens her life story in 1935 Britain, born to a vaudevillian mother and teacher father whose marriage would not survive the pressures of war and ambition. The memoir traces her journey through the London Blitz, her parents' divorce, and her mother's remarriage to Canadian tenor Ted Andrews. At twelve, Andrews began performing professionally on radio and in music halls across England. By 1948, she became the youngest solo performer in a Royal Command Performance before the Queen. At eighteen, she crossed the Atlantic for her Broadway debut in The Boy Friend, launching a meteoric career. Andrews chronicles her starring roles in My Fair Lady opposite Rex Harrison and Camelot with Richard Burton, her marriage to designer Tony Walton, and the birth of their daughter Emma. The narrative culminates in 1962 when Walt Disney discovered her on Broadway and cast her as the world's most beloved nanny in Mary Poppins. Andrews offers readers an intimate portrait of determination, family upheaval, and artistic growth during the formative years that shaped her legendary career.
Genres: 20th-century, autobiography, biography-memoir, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family
Setting: London, Broadway, Canada
Period: 1935, 1948, 1962
339 pages · Hardcover · Grand Central Publishing