Memoirs of an Unfit Mother
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- $18.99
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
Who is Anne Robinson?
She's the notorious grand inquisitor of the television sensation The Weakest Link. She's the first woman in nearly half a century to host a prime-time game show. She's the highest-paid female journalist in British history. She warrants fan mail and death threats, fear and loathing, unqualified admiration and unabashed hatred....
But what you don't know about the Host from Hell could fill a book.
From pioneering journalist to overnight pop-culture phenomenon, Anne Robinson tells all with the same bar-nothing candor that won her the honor of "rudest woman on TV" (Britain's TVTimes). But now Anne Robinson trains her steely-eyed focus on her own past. With unblinking honesty she shares the events of her formative upbringing by a sensitive father and a driven, hardworking mother who was "part magic, part monster." With unreserved pride she reveals the headline-making battles to carve out her own career as a journalist, a controversial consumer reporter, and a BBC anchor -- a calling that took its toll on a troubled marriage and a sensational, highly publicized custody battle.
And with biting humor, Anne Robinson explores what brought her to her latest level of infamy: the autocratic style, withering glance, and stinging lash of the lady in black, landing her in the unique position of being both the most popular and unpopular television personality in history.
This is Anne Robinson. Are you game?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Dubbed the "Queen of Mean," Robinson, host of the popular television game show The Weakest Link, is known as much for her icy demeanor, acerbic insults and severe appearance as for launching the ubiquitous, lilting catchphrase "good-bye." As Robinson lets down her seemingly impenetrable guard here, the only thing listeners may find familiar during the lengthy reading is her trademark clipped British accent and straightforward, flat delivery. She discusses her childhood with a fiercely independent, impatient mother she describes as "part monster, part magic" and a kind, passive father she's only come to fully appreciate after his death; then details the lessons and values of her upbringing that led to her ambitious nature and unrelenting desire for fame. In her 20s, she worked as a Fleet Street journalist, and in 1968 she married editor Charlie Wilson, but quickly realized she'd "misjudged a husband on a grand scale." Her recounting of their divorce and the ensuing custody battle over Robinson's only child results in long passages covering courtroom accusations of adultery, tales of her admitted alcoholism and the high emotional toll her loss of custody cost. But she lightens the tone when she speaks of breaking into radio and television, a successful second marriage and her eventual sobriety. It may be just hardcore fans who are willing to make the time commitment to this production they may also be the only ones who will be able to see Robinson in a sympathetic light. Simultaneous release with the Pocket Books hardcover.
