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All About My Mother

RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK

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All About My Mother

Written by: Rachael Stirling
Narrated by: Rachael Stirling
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Buy Now for ₹674.18

'Thrilling, chilling, uproarious and unputdownable' THE TIMES
'A feel-good tale and joyous love letter' GUARDIAN
'It is IMPOSSIBLE for a book to be more delightful than this' CAITLIN MORAN
'Deliciously readable and deeply touching' DAILY MAIL
'Funny and fascinating' OLDIE
'A zinger' DAILY TELEGRAPH

An icon at twenty-seven and voted sexiest woman of all time forty years later, Diana Rigg was Emma Peel, the catsuited Avenger and 007's only wife. She was equally unforgettable as Medea, Mother Courage, Mrs Danvers and Game of Thrones' Queen of Thorns.

Stephen Sondheim wrote a song for her; Ted Hughes translated a play; Laurence Olivier called her 'Tits Rigg'. She fearlessly fought for equal pay and took the Daily Mail to court for their campaign against her (winning both times). Always witty and direct, when asked what it meant to become a dame, she replied, 'I think it means I'm not supposed to say "fuck" anymore.'

Offstage, she was a gloriously naughty, deeply loving, take-no-prisoners mother to her only child, Rachael Stirling. Little surprise that Rachael became an actress - here she shows that she is a writer too. All About My Mother is both a showstopping mother-daughter memoir and the vivid life of a legend all rolled into one.

Diana Rigg never wrote her autobiography but in this raw, vibrant and tender book, written by the person who knew her best, she lives again on the page.©2026 Rachael Stirling (P)2026 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
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Critic Reviews

'A feel-good tale and a love letter... A funny, intimate, often joyous and beautifully written eulogy to a woman who didn't suffer fools yet remained blithely self-mocking and down to earth. Asked what it meant to be made a dame, Diana Rigg replied 'I think it means I'm not supposed to say fuck any more''
'Not many showbiz memoirs are like All About My Mother, a thrilling, chilling, uproarious and unputdownable account of Rigg by her only child and occasional co-star, Rachael Stirling ... The prose has the raw and bloody streak of Olivia Laing or Lara Feigel ... funny, moving and bracingly honest'
'Glorious ... in the pages of her daughter's book, Diana Rigg is thrillingly, roaringly present again ... Intimate and incredibly moving'
Diana Rigg lives again in this game-changing glitter-cannon of a book, that joins the pantheon of sheer joy alongside the Mitfords and the Durrells ... Imagine you, Rachael Stirling and Diana Rigg locked in a bar having the best night ever. This is that book!
'After she'd kicked [Rachael's] fucking teeth in, her Ma would be incredibly proud'
'A lovely, loving book ... a memoir, a eulogy, a thank you letter and an apology ... funny, fascinating and touching'
Rachael Stirling writes brilliantly. Her complete honesty ensures one eye-popping story after another. But is it written with love? You bet! ... Glorious ... Two more volumes please. As soon as possible
A zinger. All About My Mother is definitely not earnest. Instead, it's a deeply personal account of a devoted mother-daughter relationship
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