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Spilling the Beans cover art

Spilling the Beans

Written by: Clarissa Dickson Wright
Narrated by: Clarissa Dickson Wright
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Publisher's Summary

Shortlisted for the British Book Awards, Biography of the Year, 2008.

Here is the no-holds-barred autobiography, read by the author, of one of the nation's best-loved cooks. Her life has led her from wealth and privilege to alcoholism, bankruptcy, and eventually fame in Two Fat Ladies.

As a privileged child, shooting and hunting were the norm, and pigeons were flown in from Cairo for supper. Clarissa's mother was an Australian heiress; her father was a brilliant surgeon to the Royal family. But he was also a tyrannical and violent drunk who used to beat her and force her to eat carrots with slugs still clinging to them.

Clarissa was determined and clever, though, and her ambition led her to a career in the law. At the age of 21, she was the youngest-ever woman to be called to the Bar. Then disaster struck when her adored mother died suddenly. It was to lead to a mind-numbing decade of wild over-indulgence. Rich from her inheritance, in the end Clarissa had partied away her entire fortune.

It was a long, hard road to recovery, along which Clarissa finally faced her demons and turned to the one thing that had always brought her joy: cooking. Now at last she has found success, sobriety, and peace. With the stark honesty and the brilliant wit we love her for, Clarissa recounts the tale of a life lived to extremes. A vivid and funny story, this audiobook is as moving as it is a cracking good listen.

©2007 Clarissa Dickson Wright (P)2007 Hodder and Stoughton Audiobooks

What the critics say

"Clarissa Dickson Wright's ( Spilling the Beans) has lingered in my mind since I heard her voice crack with emotion, then firm up with doughty panche. Her father was a tyrant who refused to pay for her education as a barrister. But she made her way until her mother's untimely death, and she turned to gin. She frittered away a fortune, then scanned the small ads for a job as a cook. How she got there to Jennifer Patterson's sidecar is hilarious and moving."( The Times)

What listeners say about Spilling the Beans

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