Odd Boy Out cover art

Odd Boy Out

The hilarious and unforgettable Sunday Times bestselling autobiography

Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

$8.99/mo after trial ends. Cancel anytime
Try for $0.00
More purchase options

Odd Boy Out

By: Gyles Brandreth
Narrated by: Gyles Brandreth
Try for $0.00

Auto-renews at {membershipPrice}/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $19.89

Buy Now for $19.89

Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

The long-awaited autobiography from beloved star of Just a Minute, QI, Have I Got News For You and Celebrity Gogglebox.

There are few people Gyles Brandreth doesn't know or hasn't met - from the Queen to the Sex Pistols, Mandela and Marlene Dietrich to TS Eliot, he's the celebrities' celebrity, as familiar and welcome to us on radio and screens as biscuits are to a cup of tea.

Now a grandparent, looking back on his remarkable life, he traces his steps back to being a three-year-old tearing around 1950s London on his tricycle, to boarding school where he had an appendix removed simply to get out of football, to Bedales, where he met Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (and became intimate with a matron), to balancing his growing love of theatre with his love for educating, the 'woolly jumper years', the stint as an MP, the years of close friendship with the Queen, to becoming a septuagenarian Twitter star and stalwart fixture in British entertainment.

Throughout it all, there are lessons to be learned as Gyles derives wisdom and wit from his extraordinary encounters. Full of stories and full of heart, this is Gyles as you don't yet know him.

© Gyles Brandreth 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

Art & Literature Authors Entertainment & Celebrities Entertainment & Performing Arts Film & TV Politicians Politics & Activism Celebrity Funny Heartfelt
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_c

Critic Reviews

Hilarious, ribald, eye-popping, unforgettable, will make you laugh out loud
A whirlwind of witticisms and of funny tales, both short and tall . . . 'I feel I have lived my life in a magic garden where the sun is always shining' he writes, and in Odd Boy Out he offers us yet another glimpse of that bright, shining sun

Warm, witty, charming. A moving and very affectionate family history. An enthusiast for life

A fabulous raconteur with a great many tricks up his sleeve. His infectious zest for life means he has a story for almost every well-known person you can think of
A magnificent raconteur. A witty account of a most unusual life
Brilliant pen portraits of his father and myriad friends present a framework for Gyles's contemplation of his extraordinary life. Light-hearted and dark events alike are described with his customary deceptively jaunty style, making them funny, moving, and sometimes deeply shocking (Sheila Hancock)
Staggeringly brilliant, funny and touching, I loved it (Joanna Lumley)
A hilarious and revealing account of growing up and coming of age in an apparently well-to-do but always strapped-for-cash middle-class English family
Brandreth has been an expert cheerer-upper for more than 60 years . . . Ebullient. Full of fun, famous names and sparkling facts
He's cheery, fun and has a fabulous grasp of the English language, so Gyles Brandreth's autobiography makes for a scintillating read. His hilarious - and sometimes moving - account of his life from early childhood days through to the adult world of politics and television is candid. It is also a story around his everyday family life, and about happiness, ambition and love. It offers a fascinating insight into a portrait of Britain, too
All stars
Most relevant
Doesn't mention all the famous people he knows. just drones on and on about Oxford. ztotally uninteresting. Audible refund doesn't work as they say - have spent half an hour following their instructions and book doesn't even show up in list. not happy. this book is rubbish.

TOTALLY BORING

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.