---
product_id: 153255189
title: "Home: A Memoir of My Early Years"
price: "€ 6.76"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.fi/products/153255189-home-a-memoir-of-my-early-years
store_origin: FI
region: Finland
---

# Home: A Memoir of My Early Years

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- **What is this?** Home: A Memoir of My Early Years
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## Description

desertcart.com: Home: A Memoir of My Early Years (Audible Audio Edition): Julie Andrews, Julie Andrews, Balance: Books

Review: JULIE ANDREWS: A CLASS ACT - I wondered if Julie Andrews, a very private celebrity, would ler her guard down in her long-awaited autobiography "Home: A Memoir Of My Early Years." To my surprise and delight, she does just that and much more-- writing about many personal and painful memories with more candor and courage than I expected. After reading this book, I realized that biographies by Robert Windeler and Richard Stirling did not even begin to do her justice. To begin with, Julie can write wrings around her other "biographers". She has a true gift for writing and providing details of people, places and eras that create very specific and clear images in the the mind's eye of the reader. Many of her memories are emotionally harrowing and filled with almost heartbreaking pathos. Yet, it is never a sad, self-pitying, or self-serving autobiography. Julie balances the sadness with perception, depth, and her own delicious, delightful, often bawdy, sense of humor. Julie's "early years" were mostly spent touring around England in the last, dying days of British vaudeville. Most of the venues she played in were terrible and tacky; a few were gloriously fun. She never complains or despairs, but life at home was definitely not a Disney "Jolly Holiday"-- definitely not with her abusive and alcoholic stepfather; "Pop" Ted Andrews. She resented him from the start, and he quickly gave her every good reason to resent him. She must have terribly resented having to adopt his last name. Yet, she is very "matter of fact" about the turn of events: "my name was changed from Julia Elizabeth Wells to Julie Andrews...I didn't have any say in the matter, and I don't think my father (Ted Wells, whom she absolutely adored) did, either. He must have been hurt.' Her family was severely fractured and disfunctional; and she seems acutely aware of this. Writing of a visit to her boyfriend Tony Walton's house, she says, "Everything was soothing, pleasant and spoke of a real home--quite a contrast to my own rather sad and disorganized one." Her mother, Barbara, was a rather pathetic alcoholic as well. When Julie was 14, her very drunk mother dropped a huge emotional bombshell regarding Julie's "biological father," who was not, as she always assumed, Ted Wells. This revealation, understandably, knocked Julie sideways for years. Yet, she responded to every adversity with the iron will and resolve of a true survivor. She writes, "I committed myself wholeheartedly to assumming responsibility for the entire family. It seemed solely up to me now to hold us together, for there was no one else to do it." Because of her dedication to keeping her family intact, she nearly passed on the opportunity to make her Broadway debut in "The Boyfriend" at age 19. She had to be literally shoved onto a plane to the U.S.A. Broadway provided her with a nurturing environment, an education, and another "home", of sorts. When Julie describes her lengthy, nearly three year marathon run in the megahit musical "My Fair Lady," guided by her great director/mentor Moss Hart, the autobiography is completely engrossing. After this, she details the trials and tribulations that plagued "Camelot," Lerner and Loewe's costly, often misguided follow-up to "My Fair Lady." The book ends rather abruptly-- just at the point where the reader is totally capitivated and feeling we are just beginning to know Julie. Julie, Tony Walton, and their newborn daughter Emma, are happily flying off to Hollywood-- Julie and Tony having accepted Walt Disney's offer to work on "Mary Poppins." One hopes Julie won't wait too long before she offers a second installment. Whether writing about personal tragedies or professional triumphs, Julie displays the warmth and graciousness that have made her so endearing for over 50 years. Above all, Julie proves that she is, without a doubt, one of the last true "class acts" left in show business.
Review: A Masterpiece as Exemplary as "The Sound of Music" Itself, While Revealing a Surprising Childhood - My impression has always been that Julie Andrews probably grew up in a rather high class situation. Nothing could be further from the truth. The hardships she grew up with as a child, and the difficult and rewarding relationships with family, are related vividly in this book. The book is engaging -- the writing is packed with great imagery of settings and stories. I loved learning how her early years, performing in vaudeville with her parents and others, helped her become a successful actress and singer. She relates unusual and funny occurrences with delightful descriptions. Her early vocal training is described in detail, along with her various vocal teachers. You see how she grew from a very shy girl to a world star, and at a very young age. As she grew older and began to travel to the United States for tours there, you get a glimpse of both the hardships of traveling alone without family, and the exhilaration of meeting stars she had heard about. You experience the burdens she carried of supporting her siblings and parents, all during her young career, at home, abroad, and again back home in England. I was amazed all during the book, at the recall of people, places, and dates, included with the captivating stories. After finishing the book, I learned that she had a number of people researching the details. The book is absolutely packed with exemplary incidental information regarding culture, history, acting, voice, actors, relationships -- I imagine this book would appeal to a broad spectrum of readers, in addition to those like me, who have simply grown up loving Julie Andrews and her performances. After returning the library book, I prompting ordered my own copy.

## Images

![Home: A Memoir of My Early Years - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81BeUgv6t-L.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ JULIE ANDREWS: A CLASS ACT
*by D***. on April 5, 2008*

I wondered if Julie Andrews, a very private celebrity, would ler her guard down in her long-awaited autobiography "Home: A Memoir Of My Early Years." To my surprise and delight, she does just that and much more-- writing about many personal and painful memories with more candor and courage than I expected. After reading this book, I realized that biographies by Robert Windeler and Richard Stirling did not even begin to do her justice. To begin with, Julie can write wrings around her other "biographers". She has a true gift for writing and providing details of people, places and eras that create very specific and clear images in the the mind's eye of the reader. Many of her memories are emotionally harrowing and filled with almost heartbreaking pathos. Yet, it is never a sad, self-pitying, or self-serving autobiography. Julie balances the sadness with perception, depth, and her own delicious, delightful, often bawdy, sense of humor. Julie's "early years" were mostly spent touring around England in the last, dying days of British vaudeville. Most of the venues she played in were terrible and tacky; a few were gloriously fun. She never complains or despairs, but life at home was definitely not a Disney "Jolly Holiday"-- definitely not with her abusive and alcoholic stepfather; "Pop" Ted Andrews. She resented him from the start, and he quickly gave her every good reason to resent him. She must have terribly resented having to adopt his last name. Yet, she is very "matter of fact" about the turn of events: "my name was changed from Julia Elizabeth Wells to Julie Andrews...I didn't have any say in the matter, and I don't think my father (Ted Wells, whom she absolutely adored) did, either. He must have been hurt.' Her family was severely fractured and disfunctional; and she seems acutely aware of this. Writing of a visit to her boyfriend Tony Walton's house, she says, "Everything was soothing, pleasant and spoke of a real home--quite a contrast to my own rather sad and disorganized one." Her mother, Barbara, was a rather pathetic alcoholic as well. When Julie was 14, her very drunk mother dropped a huge emotional bombshell regarding Julie's "biological father," who was not, as she always assumed, Ted Wells. This revealation, understandably, knocked Julie sideways for years. Yet, she responded to every adversity with the iron will and resolve of a true survivor. She writes, "I committed myself wholeheartedly to assumming responsibility for the entire family. It seemed solely up to me now to hold us together, for there was no one else to do it." Because of her dedication to keeping her family intact, she nearly passed on the opportunity to make her Broadway debut in "The Boyfriend" at age 19. She had to be literally shoved onto a plane to the U.S.A. Broadway provided her with a nurturing environment, an education, and another "home", of sorts. When Julie describes her lengthy, nearly three year marathon run in the megahit musical "My Fair Lady," guided by her great director/mentor Moss Hart, the autobiography is completely engrossing. After this, she details the trials and tribulations that plagued "Camelot," Lerner and Loewe's costly, often misguided follow-up to "My Fair Lady." The book ends rather abruptly-- just at the point where the reader is totally capitivated and feeling we are just beginning to know Julie. Julie, Tony Walton, and their newborn daughter Emma, are happily flying off to Hollywood-- Julie and Tony having accepted Walt Disney's offer to work on "Mary Poppins." One hopes Julie won't wait too long before she offers a second installment. Whether writing about personal tragedies or professional triumphs, Julie displays the warmth and graciousness that have made her so endearing for over 50 years. Above all, Julie proves that she is, without a doubt, one of the last true "class acts" left in show business.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Masterpiece as Exemplary as "The Sound of Music" Itself, While Revealing a Surprising Childhood
*by T***Y on July 11, 2016*

My impression has always been that Julie Andrews probably grew up in a rather high class situation. Nothing could be further from the truth. The hardships she grew up with as a child, and the difficult and rewarding relationships with family, are related vividly in this book. The book is engaging -- the writing is packed with great imagery of settings and stories. I loved learning how her early years, performing in vaudeville with her parents and others, helped her become a successful actress and singer. She relates unusual and funny occurrences with delightful descriptions. Her early vocal training is described in detail, along with her various vocal teachers. You see how she grew from a very shy girl to a world star, and at a very young age. As she grew older and began to travel to the United States for tours there, you get a glimpse of both the hardships of traveling alone without family, and the exhilaration of meeting stars she had heard about. You experience the burdens she carried of supporting her siblings and parents, all during her young career, at home, abroad, and again back home in England. I was amazed all during the book, at the recall of people, places, and dates, included with the captivating stories. After finishing the book, I learned that she had a number of people researching the details. The book is absolutely packed with exemplary incidental information regarding culture, history, acting, voice, actors, relationships -- I imagine this book would appeal to a broad spectrum of readers, in addition to those like me, who have simply grown up loving Julie Andrews and her performances. After returning the library book, I prompting ordered my own copy.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Beautiful and Surprising
*by F***N on December 27, 2015*

I really enjoyed this well-written memoir, loved reading about bucolic England and the love Ms. Andrews had for the countryside there. I also especially loved reading about her early years in the NY theater. As she states in the title, it's a memoir of her early years. Still, because the book is so good, I was disappointed when it ended, especially since it ends before she gets into Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, etc. She's a lovely writer. It would have been so pleasant to continue a few more hours with her. The big surprise for me was how tough her childhood was. You never can tell about a person from the way they look and speak.

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*Last updated: 2026-03-07*