Gladys Reunited: A Personal American Journey [Paperback]

Sandi Toksvig (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2003

In 1971, Sandi Toksvig was sent to Mamaroneck High in New York, where at age 13, she fell in love with the theater. The school production that year was Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth, and she was among the three girls chosen to play the lead role of Gladys Antrobus. Before long, the three “Gladyses” were inseparable friends, and by the time the play debuted, “The Gladys Society” had stretched to twelve members. Thirty years on and living in England, Sandi decided to return to the States to discover what had happened to her eleven fellow Gladyses and, in the process, revisit America. By turns hilarious and moving, this is a delightfully engaging story of friends united and a country rediscovered.

Editorial Reviews

Review

''Should not be read while eating, or in public, for fear of becoming helpless with laughter & having concerned passers-by call the men in white coats to cart you away' Books Magazine 'Touching and funny account of our favourite Great Dane going back to the America of her childhood & searching for its survivors' Sheridan Morley

From the Publisher

In 1971, having been ejected from a number of schools, Sandi Toksvig was sent to the remaining option: Mamaroneck High in New York. And at the tender age of thirteen, she fell in love with the theater. The school production that year was Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth, and she was among the three girls chosen to play the lead role of Gladys Antrobus. Before long, the three “Gladyses” were inseparable friends, and by the time the play debuted, “The Gladys Society” had stretched to twelve members. Thirty years on and living in England, Sandi decided to return to the States to discover what had happened to her eleven fellow Gladyses and, in the process, revisit America. By turns hilarious and moving, this is a delightfully engaging story of friends united and a country rediscovered. After earning a degree from Cambridge University, Sandi Toksvig went on to become a founding member of the Comedy Store Players.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group (June 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0751533289
• ISBN-13: 978-0751533286
• Product Dimensions: 1 x 5 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,001,775 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, December 11, 2008

By 

books for ever "liz" (Scotland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gladys Reunited: A Personal American Journey (Paperback)

This is a great book. Travel with humour and insight, it satisfies at every level.

4.0 out of 5 stars Comedienne revisits her past, October 3, 2004

By 

T. Bently "tbently" (Berkshire, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gladys Reunited: A Personal American Journey (Paperback)

I much prefer Sandy Toksvig's non-fiction writing to her novels. Here she provides a twist to the (too easy) choice of a childhood memoir by focusing on a play put on by her high school drama class and links it with the current vogue for quest-based books by attempting to relocate her co-stars in a kind of "friends reunited " adventure.

The structure of the book - a series of vignettes as she meets various chums of long ago - plays to Toksvig's strengths as she deftly outlines characters and finds the humor in some absurd social situations.

She clearly embarked on something of a spitiual journey in trying to reunite the Gladys Society and it is a testament to her skill as a writer that she is able to take her readers along with her.