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Victoria Wood was a true pioneer among entertainers, earning her the rightful place as a national treasure time and time again. So one of the greatest sadnesses following her death in 2016 was that she left the world without giving her own full account of her life, having never written her autobiography. Now, with complete and exclusive access to Victoria's extensive archive of personal and professional material, and with intimate interviews with her family and closest friends, Jasper Rees will finally tell her rich story in full.

'People may say I can't sing. But no one can ever say I didn't sing.' Despite having no pitch, no rhythm and no tone, Florence Foster Jenkins became one of America's best-known sopranos, giving a sell-out concert at Carnegie Hall. Born in Pennsylvania in 1868, Florence Foster adored music and as a girl was a talented pianist, but her wealthy father refused to allow her to study in Europe. In retaliation she eloped with Dr Frank Jenkins, but the marriage soon foundered, not least because the 18-year-old bride contracted syphilis on their wedding night.

On the threshold of 40, Jasper Rees fished his French horn out of the attic and, despite limited ability, sets himself a near-impossible target: to stand up in front of a paying audience in 12 months’ time and play a Mozart concerto. Alone. This is the inspired story, not only of a midlife rethink, but also of man’s first musical instrument, and its journey from the hunting fields of aristocratic France to Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Brought to you by Penguin. A major and definitive portrait of Sir Michael Gambon, one of the greatest actors of the last fifty years who died in 2023 Jasper Rees, the acclaimed Sunday Times bestselling author of Let’s Do It: The Authorised Biography of Victoria Wood, interviewed Gambon more...