Based on a True Story

By: Anthony Holden

Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong

From poker to poetry, poisoners to princes, opera to the Oscars, Shakespeare to Olivier, Mozart to Murdoch, Anthony Holden seems to have rolled many writers’ lives into one. Author of 35 books on a ‘crazy’ range of subjects, this cocky Lancashire lad-turned-bohemian citizen of the world has led an apparently charmed life from Merseyside to Buckingham Palace, the White House and beyond. As he turns 70, the award-winning journalist and biographer – grandson of an England footballer, son of a seaside shopkeeper, friend of the famous from Princess Diana to Peter O'Toole, Mick Jagger to Salman Rushdie – spills the beans on showbiz names to literary sophisticates, rock stars to royals as he looks back whimsically and wittily on a richly varied, anecdote- and action-packed career – concluding, in the words of Robert Louis Stevenson, that ‘Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but of playing a poor hand well’.©2021 Anthony Holden (P)2021 Simon & Schuster, UK

Critic reviews

'A writer’s life told by a born writer – beautifully observed, brilliantly written, wonderfully evocative. It’s a story of our time – featuring some of the most remarkable characters of our time – funny, moving and telling; a roller-coaster of a good read, at times hilarious, at times heart-breaking. My book of the year.' (Gyles Brandreth)

‘Unputdownable … Everything Holden touches, whether Arsenal or Tchaikovsky, he lights up with a fresh eye and zest. I can’t think of a more enjoyable memoir, which is also a portrait of a man of remarkable talents, expressing his own brilliance with politicians in Washington, with the literati in London watering-holes, and pursuing a never-ending affair with Shakespeare.’ (Melvyn Bragg)

‘An absolute page turner … A latter-day Laurence Sterne hurtling through a picaresque life of creative adventure. What is truly inspiring is the way Anthony has nourished so many amazing friendships with extraordinary people. This should be read by every young person of ambition to remind them that what lasts is the love of friends and family.’ (Tina Brown)

A marvelous story

Anthony Holden, the versatile distinguished writer, has written a masterful biography.
Fast paced and witty,Tony’s fascinating life as a journalist, biographer, poet, critic and world class poker player led him around the world and to an astonishingly array of famous friends and colleagues. Great book. Great life!
Thomas O’Connor