Confessions
A Life of Failed Promises
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Published:1st Sep '22
£20.00
Available to order, but very limited on stock - if we have issues obtaining a copy, we will let you know.
The much-anticipated memoirs of A. N. Wilson, one of Britain's leading contemporary critics, both literary and cultural, and a figure celebrated for his waspish and subversive writing.
Known for his journalism, biographies and novels, A. N. Wilson turns a merciless searchlight on his own early life, his experience of sexual abuse, his catastrophic mistakes in love (sacred and profane) and his life in Grub Street – as a prolific writer. Before he came to London, as one of the “Best of Young British” novelists, and Literary Editor of the Spectator, we meet another A. N. Wilson. We meet his father, the Managing Director of Wedgwood, the grotesque teachers at his first boarding school, and the dons of Oxford – one of whom, at the age of just 20, he married, Katherine Duncan-Jones, the renowned Shakespearean scholar. The book begins with his heart-torn present-day visits to Katherine, now for decades his ex-wife, who has slithered into the torments of dementia. At every turn of this reminiscence, Wilson is baffled by his earlier self – whether he is flirting with unsuitable lovers or with the idea of the priesthood. His chapter on the High Camp seminary which he attended in Oxford is among the funniest in the book. We follow his unsuccessful attempts to become an academic, his aspirations to be a Man of Letters, and his eventual encounters with the famous, including some memorable meetings with royalty. The princesses, dons, paedophiles and journos who cross the pages are as sharply drawn as figures in Wilson’s early comic fiction. But there is also a tenderness here, in his evocation of those whom he has loved, and hurt, the most.
When you combine the deepest learning and the highest readability with the most plumptious story-telling, the result is A. N. Wilson. -- Stephen Fry
A. N. Wilson is the most enjoyably readable writer I know. -- Antonia Fraser
A. N. Wilson is the supreme man of letters. He has conquered every field: journalism, novels, biography, history – and now memoir. He is planet-brained and very funny – a vanishingly rare combination. -- Harry Mount
I am stunned, as I always am, by Wilson's humanity and brilliance and hard honesty. -- Deirdre McCloskey
Distinguished literary figure A. N. Wilson's exquisite memoir tells the story of the wife he fell for as a student then betrayed - and the lifetime of lust and longing that led to a deeply poignant ending. * Daily Mail *
A. N. Wilson has written many brilliant biographies and novels but never a memoir - until now. It was worth the wait. So exhilarating. And definitely not a failed promise. * Daily Telegraph *
Wilson is a torrentially readable autobiographer, capable of howlingly funny paragraphs, desperately sad scenes, gay slapstick, literary analysis and gossipy name-dropping in the same chapter. -- John Walsh * Sunday Times *
…an arresting, honest, memorable book, never naïve or sloppy, tender and forgiving towards those who have hurt Wilson, contemptuous and merciless about his own cowardice, vanity and failings. * Literary Review *
Descriptions of life as a theological student have the mischievous, observant wit of an accomplished humourist. * The Spectator *
…in this fascinating, searingly honest memoir [Wilson] tells more of his own life story. -- Jacqueline Wilson, bestselling children's author
Deliciously delicate barbs are scattered throughout the pages. * The Tablet *
A. N. Wilson is the greatest living man of letters…He is proficient equally as a biographer, novelist, historian, essayist, editor and literary journalist. His every utterance is well worth pondering… * The Oldie *
A. N. Wilson is nothing short of a genius, a searing journalist, a prolific biographer, a historian and a novelist. There will be no finer book this year. -- Rory Knight Bruce * The Field *
All these accounts are fascinating, rendered with both melancholy and self-deprecating humor. * A STARRED REVIEW from Booklist *
Confessions reveals a dexterous storyteller… Mr. Wilson himself turned to writing, writing, writing—as if his earnest output might one day assuage “the wistful sense with which I began to write this book, that I have never been completely sure who A.N. Wilson was.” We aren’t sure, either, but it has been an interesting ride. * Wall Street Journal *
Wilson’s yarn has much to recommend… A readable, often entertaining summation of a life of hard work and second thoughts. * Kirkus Reviews *
...a poignant saga …laugh out loud, hilarious... a compelling read.. replete with acerbic humor. * City Book Review *
Scholarly, prolific and compulsively readable … it is impossible to resist Wilson’s storytelling… From its very first pages, Confessions promises to be terrifically entertaining, and it doesn’t fail in the slightest. * The Washington Post *
Wilson knows how to tell a good story … Wilson captures a world that is smaller than today but also full of possibilities too soon passed. This may not be a confession, but it is a lament, and rightly so. * The Washington Examiner *
A. N. Wilson is one of the very best novelists and biographers of his generation. He is also the most intriguing of them all. * Church Times *
In this uproariously funny at times, and searingly – almost masochistically – honest pages, it is clear that one promise [Wilson] has been unswervingly faithful to is his promise as a writer. -- Andrew Roberts * The Spectator *
…a tight, funny yarn – and the year’s best memoir, filled with eye-popping scenes and wise asides. * Daily Telegraph *
…Andrew Norman Wilson can write — fluidly, gracefully, and with immense literary flourish. * Washington Independent Review of Books *
A must-read for devotees of Wilson's prolific literary output, Confessions is a rambling, poetry-infused remembrance of promises made, broken and reshaped along the way. * Shelf Awareness *
Irresistible. * The Tablet's Books of the Year *
…gripping confessional memoir, by turns hilarious and poignant… There’s profound affection in this beautifully written book. * Daily Mail *
I’ve read Confessions twice with much enjoyment each time. * The Hudson Review *
His memoir is, of course, highly readable; full of gossip and catty stories about the people he mixed with in the worlds of journalism, academia and publishing…A diverting read from an author who never minds giving the dirty details of people’s lives. * Fun with Books Blog *
Highly entertaining from the first page of his lively memoir… Fans of Wilson’s writing are bound to enjoy this elegantly written, startlingly honest and wickedly funny book about a life lived to the full. * The Lady *
ISBN: 9781472994806
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
320 pages