I Must Collect Myself

'Reading the new collection I am struck by the wit, the depth of recollection and, above all, the humanity. Through her writing Maureen talks to the reader directly, clearly and truthfully ... she makes the reader feel like a trusted friend, privy to gossip from her occasionally glamorous, but always interesting life' The Lady 'Maureen Lipman has the knack of making the everyday supremely entertaining, the ordinary absurd and unexpected. This new collection of pieces sparkles with her inimitable prose and pithy opinions. Encounters in the street, at the hairdresser, in the dressing room, on her travels at home and abroad, indeed wherever she goes, are sharply observed, joyfully and - at times - ruefully recorded. Included, too, are a selection of brilliant monologues which capture the many voices of Maureen in wonderfully diverse ways' Wiltshire View 'Always amusing and warm-hearted rather than waspish, the actress makes a great companion. This collection of newspaper columns, comic monologues and oddball think-pieces reveals that the merry widow has never slept in a tent or scrubbed a floor ... Like all good reporters she keeps her eyes and ears open wherever she goes. Henceforth it will be impossible to hear the phrase "figure of speech" without imagining a "vigorous peach" ' Sunday Telegraph, Christmas Books 'I'm kinder now ... more thoughtful. Maureen Lipman talks frankly about work, love and seeing life through comic-tinted glasses ... Even off duty she's a natural entertainer, doing comic voices and breaking off mid-interview to sing a few lines of a Carpenters song' Front cover interview, Woman's Weekly Magazine 31/12 'A lively variation on the usual memoir recipe' Sunday Express 19/12