Nigella Lawson: A Biography [Hardcover]

Gilly Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 25, 2006

This is the first-ever biography of the irresistible domestic goddess, Nigella Lawson. Born in 1960 into a family of privelege, this book covers her childhood, her early career at the Sunday Times and Spectator, her secret marriage to John Diamond, the loss of her sister and husband to cancer-both at early ages, and her tremendous success as the author of How to be a Domestic Goddess and host of Nigella Bites. This is a story of personal tragedy and public success, studded with a cast of celebrity friends and family. With her unashamed enjoyment for food and her curvy beauty, Nigella continues to fascinate and beguile.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Barricade Books (May 25, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569802998
• ISBN-13: 978-1569802991
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 1.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,047,236 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Worthless and frustrating biography, July 25, 2006

By 

K. Thornton - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nigella Lawson: A Biography (Hardcover)

I completely agree with the other review posted here. The book is mainly made up of quotes from Nigella's columns and other references with very little narrative. There's no real focus or direction, and most of the information is completely useless. Another frustrating element is the photo section. Why in the world do readers need to see three photos of Nigel Lawson and his second wife and children? The book hardly touches on them, and I would have rather seen some more photos of Nigella.

Definitely skip this book. Maybe someday something worthwhile will be written about this extraordinary woman.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too much: He said, She said, October 4, 2007

By 

M. E. Wood "Content Writer and Reviewer" (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nigella Lawson: A Biography (Hardcover)

Beyond the odd cooking appearance I never really knew much about Nigella Lawson so I was intrigued when I heard about Gilly Smith's biography. Smith has sorted through video footage, food columns, fashion articles, cookbooks and reviews to organize information about the cooking diva and her life.

The biography is divided into seventeen chapters and includes background on where Nigella grew up, her boarding school experience, her posh parents, her marriage to John Diamond (an award-winning broadcast journalist) and their children. Her career is highlighted from her early journalist days to her television shows and books; as well as her slow decline in popularity in the UK and her sudden birth of popularity in the U.S. Ending around 2005.

This biography was difficult to get into initially because it is delivered from a UK perspective with a lot of name dropping that means nothing to anyone over here not in the journalist or food business. The constant referencing slows things down and is really quite boring. I enjoyed getting to know Nigella but most of what I read was quoted or said by someone else and I felt throughout like I was missing something. Even the black and white pictures seemed to be from old stock footage, nothing personal.

A very different picture is painted of the Nigella her fans know and love. Despite this, Nigella comes across as a woman inspired by the intricacies of food with a compelling need to share them with whoever will read, watch and listen. She's easy to fall in love with.

I was looking forward to this glimpse into Nigella's life but was disappointed by the author's interpretation through columns, articles, interviews, cookbooks and videos. I did learn a lot about Nigella. But I think Nigella, a journalist in her own right, could have done a better job. Reviewed by M. E. Wood.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A lot of words, but little substance, July 18, 2007

By 

Anita Weinberg (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nigella Lawson: A Biography (Hardcover)

This book is just. . .hollow. It's clear that the writer either couldn't or didn't get any interview time with Nigella herself. It offers endless quotes pulled from articles about Nigella that have been published elsewhere, and lots of hearsay and opinions of people clearly outside her inner circle. And from a purely structural standpoint, it's just flat-out wordy as hell. I wish I could get paid as well as this author probably did for just cutting-and-pasting from other people's work!