Terry Pratchett: A Life With Footnotes

''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

Auteur

Rob Wilkins worked with Terry Pratchett for more than twenty years, first as his personal assistant and later as his business manager. He now manages the Pratchett literary estate and Terry's production company, Narrativia.

Texte du rabat

"'People think that stories are shaped by people. In fact, it's the other way around.' Terry Pratchett, creator of the phenomenally bestselling Discworld series, knight of the realm, and holder of more honorary doctorates than he knew what to do with, was known and loved around the world for his wildly popular books, his brilliant satirical humour and for the humanity of his campaign work. But that's only part of the picture. At the time of his death in 2015, he was working on his finest story yet - his own. The story of a boy who was told by his headteacher aged six that he would never amount to anything, and spent the rest of his life proving him wrong. Who walked out on his A levels to become a journalist, encountering some very dead bodies and the idea for his first novel before he reached twenty. Who celebrated his knighthood by smelting himself a sword, and who, on being awarded the prestigious Carnegie Medal, switched it during the prizegiving for a chocolate replica and proceeded to eat it in front of an audience of horrified librarians. Tragically, Terry ran out of time to complete the memoir he so desperately wanted to write. But now, in the only authorised biography of one of our best known and best loved writers, his manager and friend Rob Wilkins picks up where Terry left off, and with the help of friends, family and Terry's own unpublished work, tells the full story of an extraordinary life"--Publisher's description.

Résumé

WINNER OF THE 2023 LOCUS AWARD FOR NON-FICTION
WINNER OF THE BRITISH SCIENCE FICTION ASSOCIATION AWARD FOR BEST NON-FICTION

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

'Sometimes joyfully, sometimes painfully, intimate . . . it is wonderful to have this closeup picture of the writer's working life.' - Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Observer

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.

The creator of the phenomenally bestselling Discworld series, Terry Pratchett was known and loved around the world for his hugely popular books, his smart satirical humour and the humanity of his campaign work. But that's only part of the picture.

Before his untimely death, Terry was writing a memoir: the story of a boy who aged six was told by his teacher that he would never amount to anything and spent the rest of his life proving him wrong. For Terry lived a life full of astonishing achievements: becoming one of the UK's bestselling and most beloved writers, winning the prestigious Carnegie Medal and being awarded a knighthood.

Now, the book Terry sadly couldn't finish has been written by Rob Wilkins, his former assistant, friend and now head of the Pratchett literary estate. Drawing on his own extensive memories, along with those of the author's family, friends and colleagues, Rob unveils the full picture of Terry's life - from childhood to his astonishing writing career, and how he met and coped with what he called the 'Embuggerance' of Alzheimer's disease.

A deeply moving and personal portrait of the extraordinary life of Sir Terry Pratchett, written with unparalleled insight and filled with funny anecdotes, this is the only official biography of one of our finest authors.

'Spins magic from mundanity in precisely the way Pratchett himself did.' - Telegraph

'As frank, funny and unsentimental as anything its subject might have produced himself.' - Mail on Sunday