Will She Do?

Review The acclaimed memoir of one of Britain's most loved actresses, a girl from Tottenham with big dreams who is now Dame Eileen Atkins. `Wit as dry as a martini' Daily Mail `Bliss' Observer `Exhilarating' Spectator --Book Description Will She Do? is the story of a girl from a council estate in Tottenham - born in 1934 to an electric-meter reader and a seamstress - who was determined to be an actress. Candid and witty, this memoir takes her from her awkward performances in working-men's clubs at six years of age as dancing 'Baby Eileen', through the war years in London, to her breakthrough at thirty-two on Broadway with The Killing of Sister George ; it's about family, about class, about youthful ambition, about big dreams and what really goes on behind the scenes. `Startling, candid and often disquietingly funny - Atkins proves to be a marvellous raconteur... she's never, ever dull' - Miranda Seymour, FT 'Oh, those anecdotes! . . . A rollicking ride through the early career of one of our greatest acting dames' Evening Standard 'Displays the emotional intelligence, acute observation, wry humour and above all honesty that distinguish Atkins's acting . . . exhilarating' Spectator 'Dame Eileen Atkins has gone toe to toe with them all over a career spanning seven decades and countless triumphs' Radio Times Made a Dame in 1991, Eileen Atkins has been on American and British stage and screen since 1957 and has won an Emmy, a BAFTA and is a three-time Olivier Award winner. --From the Back Cover There is something about those large eyes and that steadfast look that tells you that you are in the presence of a remarkable actor; and so it has proved in a career that has encompassed everything from Greek tragedy and Ibsen to Pinter and Albee, and that has led Atkins to be revered on both sides of the Atlantic . . . Vanessa Redgrave seems to have direct access to some other world. Judi Dench has the capacity to merge laughter and tears in a single moment. The greatness of Eileen Atkins, who is their peer, lies in her uncanny emotional directness and her ability to make her eyes the window to her soul --Michael Billington ― Guardian Product Description 'She is the cur's cods, the terrier's testicles, the business. I will go farther and declare that Atkins is the finest actor appearing in the world right now' - A. A. Gill Will She Do? is the story of a girl from a council estate in Tottenham, born in 1934 to an electric-meter reader and a seamstress, who was determined to be an actress. Candid and witty, this memoir takes her from her awkward performances in working-men's clubs at six years of age as dancing 'Baby Eileen', through the war years in London, to her breakthrough at thirty-two on Broadway with The Killing of Sister George, for which she received the first of four Tony Award nominations. She co-created Upstairs, Downstairs and wrote the screenplay for Mrs Dalloway (for which she won an Evening Standard Award) and at aged eighty-six, this is her first autobiographical work. Characterised by an eye for the absurd, a terrific knack for storytelling and an insistence on honesty, Will She Do? is a wonderful raconteur's tale about family, about class, about youthful ambition and big dreams and what really goes on behind the scenes. Made a Dame in 1991, Eileen Atkins has been on American and British stage and screen since 1957 and has won an Emmy, a BAFTA and is a three-time Olivier Award winner; her theatre performances include The Height of the Storm, Ellen Terry, All that Fall and she has appeared in television and films ranging from Doc Martin to Cranford to The Crown. Book Description The acclaimed memoir of one of Britain's most loved actresses, a girl from Tottenham with big dreams who is now Dame Eileen Atkins. `Wit as dry as a martini' Daily Mail `Bliss' Observer `Exhilarating' Spectator From the Back Cover Will She Do? is the story of a girl from a council estate in Tottenham - born in 1934 to an electric-