Home: A Memoir of My Early Years

Since her first appearance on screen in Mary Poppins, Julie Andrews has played a series of memorable roles that have endeared her to generations. But she has never told the story of her life before fame. Until now.

In Home: A Memoir of My Early Years, Julie takes her readers on a warm, moving, and often humorous journey from a difficult upbringing in war-torn Britain to the brink of international stardom in America. Her memoir begins in 1935, when Julie was born to an aspiring vaudevillian mother and a teacher father, and takes readers to 1962, when Walt Disney himself saw her on Broadway and cast her as the world's most famous nanny.

Along the way, she weathered the London Blitz of World War II; her parents' painful divorce; her mother's turbulent second marriage to Canadian tenor Ted Andrews, and a childhood spent on radio, in music halls, and giving concert performances all over England. Julie's professional career began at the age of twelve, and in 1948 she became the youngest solo performer ever to participate in a Royal Command Performance before the Queen. When only eighteen, she left home for the United States to make her Broadway debut in The Boy Friend, and thus began her meteoric rise to stardom.

Home is filled with numerous anecdotes, including stories of performing in My Fair Lady with Rex Harrison on Broadway and in the West End, and in Camelot with Richard Burton on Broadway; her first marriage to famed set and costume designer Tony Walton, culminating with the birth of their daughter, Emma; and the call from Hollywood and what lay beyond.

Julie Andrews' career has flourished over seven decades. From her legendary Broadway performances, to her roles in such iconic films as The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Hawaii, 10, and The Princess Diaries, to her award-winning television appearances, multiple album releases, concert tours, international humanitarian work, best-selling children's books, and championship of literacy, Julie's influence spans generations. Today, she lives with her husband of thirty-eight years, the acclaimed writer/director Blake Edwards; they have five children and seven grandchildren.

Featuring over fifty personal photos, many never before seen, this is the personal memoir Julie Andrews' audiences have been waiting for.

Customer Reviews:

Loved it!

Even though I was born 6 years after the release of Mary Poppins and this book is about Julie Andrew's life up to being hired for Mary Poppins, I enjoyed every single page! I have always been a huge Julie Andrew's fan; however, I had no idea about her life prior to her films. Her grace and humor shines throughout the book. It is also evident how much work went into it as the memories are described so wonderfully. I really hope she will follow up with another book to bring us to date to where she is today!

2008-08-06

Boring

I adore Julie Andrews so this book was a huge disappointment. I was so looking forward to getting lost in her words. By page 5, I was beginning to skimread over her tedious and depressing genealogy. Only halfway through the book does she begin describing her acting career. The book ends as she signs up for Mary Poppins. Where was an editor to suggest that anyone other than a devoted fan would find the minutiae of her family troubles a dull read?

2008-08-03

I'm glad this book covers the early years in such evocative detail...

Julie Andrews' new autobiography, "Home," is a must-read for anyone who loves Disney, entertainment, England and great family stories. She is a consummate writer -- yes, she is one of the celebrities who writes her own books -- and evokes the mood, settings, and even the smells of her early life, from a dysfunctional but loving family and the last days of British Vaudeville to Broadway stardom and getting the role of Mary Poppins.

I was not aware that two Disney legends crossed paths twice in their careers. Julie Andrews performed in her first big stage variety show with none other than Disneyland Golden Horseshoe fixture Wally Boag. Boag also figures prominently in Steve Martin's autobiography, in which he fondly recalls Disneyland as his haven from an unhappy home life.

Julie's childhood had tough times, but she remained very close to her family over the years despite the bumps in the road. I'm glad she chose to focus in so much detail on her early career in this book, since many of us know little about the theatrical world she came from. Mary Poppins makes an appropriate stopping point since she suggests that her early experience led to her being uniquely qualified to play the part, which had a lot of music hall-style set pieces. The life she led after the movie made her an international star is really another story for another book.

I listened to the book on CD. Hearing Julie Andrews herself spin her tale in a warm, friendly way is a remarkable experience. Some of my friends chose to read the book first. I also bought the book to share with family and friends, and to have on hand for quick reference.

2008-07-29

Where Was Her Editor?

Julie Andrews, a heroine of my early life, has disappointed me in this poorly written, garrulous memoir. She has all the material for a fabulously written life - but on the page, her writing falls flat. Long chapters on family matters are depressing. Gratuitous incidents involving various English relatives could have been cut. I felt I was listening to a too-loquacious older family member, who remembered everything, but did not remember her listener, or think in terms of what her listener would want to hear. I wanted to read about Julie Andrews' career on Broadway, about the great actors she starred opposite - Rex Harrison and Richard Burton - about working with Lerner & Loewe. And while she did recount theater memories, she did so in such a turgid manner, without the charm that she surely still possesses. I felt I did not know who Harrison and Burton were as people, and I certainly did not gain insight into Lerner or Loewe. Although apparently she has written or co-written many children's books, Julie Andrews is not a skilled, professional writer. She lacks personal insight, for one thing. I know this book will make her many fans happy, but to me, it seems an exercise in dogged grit rather than the natural expression of an inborn talent.

2008-07-11

Julie Andrews' Home is a lovely memoir

I highly recommend Julie Andrews' "Home: A Memoir of My Early Years." It's a beautifully written book that captures the times and places of the events that took place in her early years (i.e before her film career). As one who, as a young child, first heard her sing on the "My Fair Lady" orginal cast recording, I've been a fan for a very long time. This wonderful book adds to her many extraordinary achievments. I'm so looking forward to the next installment of her amazing life.

2008-07-04