'Warm, anxious and true - a Little Book of Un-Calm' Caitlin Moran

Shortlisted for Non-fiction Book of the Year at the National Book Awards
Read on BBC Radio 4

Sometimes things are more ordinary than you think. And sometimes they're a whole lot odder than you can possibly imagine. By turns poignant, comic and uplifting, Curious is a book of stories from Rebecca Front's life, all of them true, though sometimes perhaps a little bent out of shape in the telling. It is a beguiling celebration of the curiosities of everyday life, and of what it is to be curious - in every sense of the word.

Autobiographical stories from the award-winning actor and comedy writer.

About the Author
Rebecca Front is a BAFTA-winning actress and the author of Curious and Impossible Things Before Breakfast. She is best known for her work on television, both in comedies such as The Thick of It, Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge, Nighty Night and The Day Today, and in such dramas as Lewis, War and Peace, Poldark and Queers. With her brother Jeremy she stars in BBC Radio 4's Incredible Women, and she is a frequent panellist on The News Quiz. Her columns have appeared in the Guardian, Sunday Times and many other publications. Born and raised in East London, she read English at Oxford and was the first female president of the Oxford Revue.

Reviews
Rebecca Front is an award-winning actress from TV political satire The Thick of It and also, it turns, out a brilliant storyteller. She's written for The Guardian and The Independent for years and Curious is her first book. Sharp, funny and often poignant, it is a collection of witty stories and sketches from her own life. * GOOD HOUSEKEEPING *
Rebecca Front's playful observations about the remarkable and curious moments in everyday life meant that I read her book with a frequent smile on my face. There's an Alice-in-Wonderland charm to the writing, and the stories range from the uninvited guest who sets up home in the family living room to a witty analysis of celebrity heirarchy. It's the kind of book where certain insights and experiences stick with you - you want to tuck them safely away so you can draw on them when you need them. -- Gemma Jenkins * PSYCHOLOGIES MAGAZINE *
A charming collection of her life experiences - a great beach read. * SAINSBURY MAGAZINE *
There is something of the cool aunt about Rebecca Front. As an actress, she is both mumsy and quietly subversive. She's equally at ease collaborating with Steve Coogan and Armando Iannucci as she is in cosy crime such as Midsomer Murders and Lewis. The one constant is an eyebrow arched high. This winning delivery comes across in Curious, in which she mixes autobiography with baffled rant. And like her screen persona, her writing is funny and touching. -- Christian House * DAILY TELEGRAPH *
Actress Rebecca Front offers not a straight autobiography but a string of quirky stories, memories and personal anxieties. * MAIL ON SUNDAY 'EVENT' *
Rebecca...has anxieties to burn, and writes amusingly and perceptively about them. -- Markus Berkmann * DAILY MAIL *
As you might expect from an actress who made her name in such darkly comic TV series as The Thick of It and Nighty Night, Rebecca Front tells a very funny tale. Her debut book is a gloriously entertaining collection of personal stories and anecdotes from her childhood to the present day. * HELLO! *
Both original and entertaining -- Viv Groskop * SUNDAY EXPRESS *
A brilliant storyteller, it's the curious in the quotidian that attracts her gaze as she spins her funny and poignant tales. -- Janet Christie * THE SCOTSMAN *
Rebecca Front proves herself to be an entertaining raconteur, mixing personal reminscences with unusual observations of everyday life. * CHOICE *
The BAFTA-winning actress, Rebecca Front, best know for her roles as MP Nicola Murray in The Thick of It and DCS Jean Innocent in Lewis, has written Curious which contains random, extremely amusing autobiographical anecdotes and yarns, giving her thoughts on everything from learning to swim and unwanted visitors, to the pros and cons of fame and her take on cosmetic surgery. * WOMAN'S WAY (Ireland) *
Lively and marvellously eccentric ... her sharp observations amuse and delight * DAILY MAIL *
Superbly amusing cabinet of curiosities - a mixture of autobiography and baffled rant * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *
It's very, very funny, it's got some wonderful one-liners ... it's also a plea for us to accept and respect the differences that we all have -- Harriett Gilbert * A GOOD READ, BBC Radio 4 *
I thoroughly enjoyed it ... I love the fact that it's based on more or less real life incidences, just very normal situations, and each chapter has its own little life lesson that we can just pause and think about ... you can imagine all of these chapters being little sketches -- Evelyn Glennie * A GOOD READ, BBC Radio 4 *
It's a charming book, it's a very enjoyable read ... it does what the best memoirs and autobiographies do ... I felt very much as if this was a person I'd like to spend time with -- Sarah Churchwell * A GOOD READ, BBC Radio 4 *
A total delight -- Lissa Evans, author of OLD BAGGAGE



Book Information
ISBN 9781780226118
Author Rebecca Front
Format Paperback
Page Count 256
Imprint Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Publisher Orion Publishing Co
Weight(grams) 180g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 128mm * 18mm