Terry Pratchett: A Life With Footnotes: The Official Biography

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Both more and less than a biography . . . full of insights and revelations, in many ways the sort of thing Prathett might have written about himself, proud of what has been done, honest about the process . . . written with intelligence and compassion. Christopher Priest, The Times Literary Supplement

But then he thought about it more seriously. “I wish I had started writing for a living earlier,” he said eventually. “I could probably have started to write full time about 10 years before I did.”

I enjoyed this biography in the spirit that it was offered. It is the record of a well known author as told by his personal assistant and friend. To his credit, it isn't completely glowing. He manages to show us an impatient man whose writing was fueled in large part by anger. Someone who was unintentionally cruel (or maybe it was intended?) But also a man who valued practical skills (and some impractical ones). A man who loved cats and tortoises, kept bees, and raised sheep. Wilkins also declares that Pratchett was the most firmly married man of all time. Fond, funny and conveys a pitch-perfect sense of how Pratchett managed to take the elements of his 1950s working-class childhood . . . and turn it into a universe of limitless richness and invention. Mail on Sunday Sir Terry is the famous author of the Discworld series (and more). In December 2007, he was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's of all things. It seems especially ironic and tragic that he had this particular illness what with him being a writer, his calling being bringing to life strange worlds and people, living in his own head so to speak - when it is his mind that was to fail him before his body would. There are lots of facts, many culled from the unfinished autobiography that Pratchett was dictating during his last years, plus copious anecdotes that the omnipresent PA recalled. Given the nature of their professional relationship and friendship, there is also a small element of memoir on Wilkins part too. As promised in the subtitle of the book, there are copious footnotes. These are not academic references, but more like those of the Discworld novels—further comments of the author on the event in the text. Indeed there is no bibliography, so if you are in search of analysis you will be disappointed. Only seventeen, Terry has already latched on to the idea of adopting received and dusty storytelling formalities, perking them up by instantly undermining them, and then arranging for the whole fantastical set-up to be involved in a head-on collision with the modern world in all its colloquial glory.”

It took me a few months before I actually read this biography of Terry, written by his long-time personal assistant Rob Wilkins, even though I bought it the day it came out. Honestly, I was just not ready to read about Terry succumbing to early onset Alzheimer’s, the “embuggerance” that creeped up robbing him of what made him Terry Pratchett, the writer and the person, until it prematurely robbed him of his life. Having known and worked alongside Terry as his personal assistant and business manager for over two decades, Rob is in the unique position of being able to offer both a personal and professional insight into the beloved writer’s public and private lives, as well as highlighting the origins and evolution of Terry’s extraordinarily successful creations. Then, of course, we come to his writing career and just knowing where certain details came from … like the bees … *tears up*Here’s the former press officer of the Central Electricity Generating Board, South Western Region, with his name in lights – Terry Pratchett at the peak of his powers. Next, I marveled at the Ode to Sir Terry Pratchett from Sir David Jason, which as just lovely and included a closing line that was reminiscent of how the Two Ronnies would close each episode of their comedy television show.

The joy of this biography . . . is that it spins magic from mundanity in precisely the way Pratchett himself did. The Telegraph Pratchett fans will no doubt be thrilled to learn more about his early days as a journalist and his groundbreaking work in the world of comic fantasy, as well as his later struggles with Alzheimer's disease and his tireless advocacy for assisted dying. But even readers who are less familiar with Pratchett's oeuvre will find much to appreciate in this book, which offers a touching and nuanced portrait of a man who made a profound impact on the world around him. Nejsem zbožňujícím fanouškem Terryho knih, nejsem ani občasným fanouškem Terryho knih. Sama sobě si neustále vemlouvám to, že jsem ho chytila za špatný konec. Naštěstí nejsem jediná, kdo se k tomuto názoru přiklání. Po Životě v poznámkách pod čarou si troufám tvrdit, že jsem zbožňující fanynkou obrovského srdcaře, který dýchal pro fantastiku do posledního dechu … And yes, it's the signed edition of a limited number. It also received special binding and the following additions: a postcard with a TP doodle and one of the most famous quote from the Discworld series, a doodle by Rob Wilkins, TP's gilded sigil (the honeybee) and more.Transworld managing director Larry Finlay says: ‘ A Life with Footnotes captures the genius that was Terry Pratchett, with warmth, poignancy, and great good humour - and with no small amount of love. It's an intimate, engaging and revealing portrait of one of the UK’s most loved and most missed authors, that only Rob Wilkins could have written. It is a masterclass in great biographical writing.’ It isn't surprising that what most recommends this book is the anecdotes, amusing or sombre or often a mix of the two . . . It captures the spirit of Pratchett's writing by telling hard truths through an enjoyable-to-read layer and inspires rage, laughter and sadness in turns. The Sydney Morning Herald

Wilkins has many advantages over most biographers, having not only known his subject well, but taken down notes while he was alive for his projected memoir. The result, at times, is like a ventriloquist act, with Pratchett's voice and personality emerging loud and clear. The Herald Rob Wilkins says: ‘Living a life alongside one of the world’s greatest authors, then reliving every moment for his biography, has been an incredible journey. Terry was one of the most talented, complex, intellectually stimulating people I’ve ever had the privilege of meeting - a true genius. The responsibility of documenting his life when I lived so much of it with him has been such an emotive experience. A Life with Footnotes is a book that I hope would have made Terry proud.’ Next, I learned that, “Terry used to describe himself as ‘horizontally wealthy,” meaning that money hadn’t changed the person that he was, he could just afford to buy more things. However, he made some interesting choices, “instead of a Delorean DMC-12, Terry bought a shepherd’s hut,” which is “where [he] had the idea for the character of Tiffany Aching.” Look after Lyn, please. Have those fine pieces of jewellery cast to my design and give them with my love. Choose a gift every Christmas and birthday. Send flowers. Have a big dinner each year, more if necessary or if a celebration is required, and raise a brandy to my memory and to happy days. It paints the picture of a writer who loved what he did. Adored it, was bewildered by it sometimes, often doubted it and his own success, but never once took it for granted. A writer who worked incredibly hard and got his just desserts, until sadly his imagination was so diminished by a cruel disease that ultimately killed him.

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Look after the business and it will look after you. For all you have done, for all of the little things and all of the much bigger things and for the burying of the bodies … I thank you. People knowing Pratchett and his works also know that Wilkins has been working for and living with the Pratchetts for years, before the diagnosis even. They had a kind of symbiosis going and it shows in this book.