Always Unreliable: memoirs - Softcover

In UNRELIABLE MEMOIRS we meet a very young Clive James. One dressed in shorts. His hilarious adventures growing up in post-war Sydney are deliciously recounted in this, the first volume of his memoirs. Next our hero sets sail for London where he hopes to find Success without compromising his Ideals. FALLING TOWARDS ENGLAND tells how, having happily failed to land a suitable job, Clive moves into a little bed and breakfast in Swiss Cottage where he thoughtfully practises the Twist, anticipates the poetical masterpieces yet to be composed, and worries a little about his wardrobe. MAY WEEK WAS IN JUNE sees Clive at Cambridge University, where he enthusiastically involves himself in a wide variety of pursuits (so long as they aren't on the syllabus and happen to be female). Then during May week - not only in June but also two weeks long - he marries . . . and the rest is history.

Clive James is the author of more than forty books. As well as essays, he has published collections of literary and television criticism, travel writing, verse and novels, plus five volumes of autobiography, Unreliable Memoirs, Falling Towards England, May Week Was In June, North Face of Soho and The Blaze of Obscurity. As a television performer he appeared regularly for both the BBC and ITV, most notably as writer and presenter of the Postcard series of travel documentaries. His popular Radio 4 series A Point of View has been published in volume form. He has also published several poetry collections, a verse commentary of Proust, Gate of Lilacs, and a translation of Dante's The Divine Comedy. In 1992 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia and in 2003 he was awarded the Philip Hodgins memorial medal for literature. He holds honorary doctorates from Sydney University and the University of East Anglia. In 2012 he was appointed CBE and in 2013 an Officer of the Order of Australia.