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Terry Pratchett: A Life With Footnotes

The moving and joyously funny must-read official biography of one of our finest storytellers

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

WINNER OF THE BRITISH SCIENCE FICTION ASSOCIATION AWARD FOR BEST NON-FICTION


'PEOPLE THINK THAT STORIES ARE SHAPED BY PEOPLE. IN FACT, IT'S THE OTHER WAY AROUND.'

At the time of his death in 2015, award-winning and bestselling author Sir Terry Pratchett was working on his finest story yet - his own.

At six years old, Terry was told by his headteacher that he would never amount to anything. He spent the rest of his life proving that teacher wrong. At sixty-six, Terry had lived a life full of achievements: becoming one of the UK's bestselling writers, winning the Carnegie Medal and being awarded a knighthood for services to literature.

Following his untimely death from Alzheimer's disease, the mantle of completing Terry's memoir was passed to Rob Wilkins, his former assistant, friend and now head of the author's literary estate.

Drawing on his own extensive memories, along with those of Terry's family, friends, fans and colleagues, Rob recounts Terry's extraordinary story - from his early childhood to the literary phenomenon that his Discworld series became; and how he met and coped with the challenges that 'The Embuggerance' of Alzheimer's brought with it.

'Of all the dead authors in the world, Terry Pratchett is the most alive.' - John Lloyd

'Always readable, illuminating and honest. It made me miss the real Terry.' - Neil Gaiman

© Rob Wilkins 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

Alzheimer's & Dementia Art & Literature Authors Friendship Physical Illness & Disease Relationships Dementia Feel-Good Funny Heartfelt Inspiring Witty Thought-Provoking Alzheimer's Disease Biography

Critic reviews

Always readable, illuminating and honest. It made me miss the real Terry.
Heart breaking and funny . . . sometimes joyfully, sometimes painfully, intimate . . . it is wonderful to have this closeup picture of the writer's working life. (Frank Cottrell-Boyce)
The joy of this biography . . . is that it spins magic from mundanity in precisely the way Pratchett himself did.
No one, after Pratchett's wife, Lyn, and daughter, Rhianna, knew the author as well as Wilkins. I wept through the last 20 pages - beautifully done - charting Pratchett's decline in a way that is both sensitive and unsparing.
Fond, funny and conveys a pitch-perfect sense of how Pratchett managed to take the elements of his 1950s working-class childhood . . . and turn it into a universe of limitless richness and invention.
The friendship and affection between the pair shines through every page . . . Of course, [Pratchett] fans will love the book . . . and even casual readers will delight in tales of his idiosyncratic passions.
A biography almost as funny and perceptive as one of Terry's novels . . . a rich, deeply affectionate portrait of a unique personality . . . it's a joy to see the much-missed author spring back into technicolour life in this fascinating and deeply moving tribute.
A moving and acutely observed account . . . Pratchett's magical mind, and dementia, by the man who knew him best.
Wilkins has many advantages over most biographers, having not only known his subject well, but taken down notes while he was alive for his projected memoir. The result, at times, is like a ventriloquist act, with Pratchett's voice and personality emerging loud and clear.
Both more and less than a biography . . . full of insights and revelations, in many ways the sort of thing Prathett might have written about himself, proud of what has been done, honest about the process . . . written with intelligence and compassion. (Christopher Priest)
All stars
Most relevant
… because I’m writing this review whilst still sobbing with Rob at the description of Terry’s death. Particularly poignant because my own mother is currently alive but not well in the throes of Alzheimer’s.

This is a fond and respectful life but not a hagiography. There’s no hiding the warts here, but the portrait of this grumpy but basically very decent genius of a man is compelling. Whether you are a fan or not, I thoroughly recommend it.

Bring tissues…

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A touching and fitting tribute to Sir Terry. Rob captures each moment of Terry's life perfectly.

I found myself in tears at times listening to how such a talented individual was robbed of one of the main things in his life.

May his name sound on the klaks and his ripples continue forever.

A Life Well Lived.

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Superbly written and read. Laugh out loud funny as you would expect but also powerfully moving.

An amazing insight to a brilliant mind

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I thank you Rob , for sharing , for allowing us in to not only Terry's world but your journey with him. Fantastically written and read . Even if you know nothing of Terry Pratchett , read it , its strong enough to stand alone and introduce you to the genius ..pterry ..I laughed out loud, I cried .. I .. listened..

Thank you Rob

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Thanks Rob for sharing such an intimate and unique perspective on such a wonderful and unique person.

A wonderful tribute

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