Odd Boy Out

The hilarious and unforgettable Sunday Times bestselling autobiography

By: Gyles Brandreth

Narrated by: Gyles Brandreth

Brought to you by Penguin.

The long-awaited autobiography from beloved star of Just a Minute, QI, Have I Got News For You and Celebrity Gogglebox.

There are few people Gyles Brandreth doesn't know or hasn't met - from the Queen to the Sex Pistols, Mandela and Marlene Dietrich to TS Eliot, he's the celebrities' celebrity, as familiar and welcome to us on radio and screens as biscuits are to a cup of tea.

Now a grandparent, looking back on his remarkable life, he traces his steps back to being a three-year-old tearing around 1950s London on his tricycle, to boarding school where he had an appendix removed simply to get out of football, to Bedales, where he met Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (and became intimate with a matron), to balancing his growing love of theatre with his love for educating, the 'woolly jumper years', the stint as an MP, the years of close friendship with the Queen, to becoming a septuagenarian Twitter star and stalwart fixture in British entertainment.

Throughout it all, there are lessons to be learned as Gyles derives wisdom and wit from his extraordinary encounters. Full of stories and full of heart, this is Gyles as you don't yet know him.

© Gyles Brandreth 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

Critic reviews

Hilarious, ribald, eye-popping, unforgettable, will make you laugh out loud

A whirlwind of witticisms and of funny tales, both short and tall . . . 'I feel I have lived my life in a magic garden where the sun is always shining' he writes, and in Odd Boy Out he offers us yet another glimpse of that bright, shining sun

Warm, witty, charming. A moving and very affectionate family history. An enthusiast for life

A fabulous raconteur with a great many tricks up his sleeve. His infectious zest for life means he has a story for almost every well-known person you can think of

A magnificent raconteur. A witty account of a most unusual life

Brilliant pen portraits of his father and myriad friends present a framework for Gyles's contemplation of his extraordinary life. Light-hearted and dark events alike are described with his customary deceptively jaunty style, making them funny, moving, and sometimes deeply shocking (Sheila Hancock)

Staggeringly brilliant, funny and touching, I loved it (Joanna Lumley)

A hilarious and revealing account of growing up and coming of age in an apparently well-to-do but always strapped-for-cash middle-class English family

Brandreth has been an expert cheerer-upper for more than 60 years . . . Ebullient. Full of fun, famous names and sparkling facts

He's cheery, fun and has a fabulous grasp of the English language, so Gyles Brandreth's autobiography makes for a scintillating read. His hilarious - and sometimes moving - account of his life from early childhood days through to the adult world of politics and television is candid. It is also a story around his everyday family life, and about happiness, ambition and love. It offers a fascinating insight into a portrait of Britain, too

I think you have to be a massive fan of his to really enjoy this book

He name drops and brags his way through this whole book, but that’s really what I expected him to do! I love seeing him on shows like QI and Would I Lie to You, but as an American, I missed many of the cultural references to actors, radio personalities, and politicians. I still enjoyed the stories anyway, but even for me, a big fan, it got old at some point.

Odd Boy Out

What an amazing story and life well lived! Mr. Brandreth is pure talent and quite the character!

What a life!

His charm, wit, soothing voice and writing style -many bravos to my new favorite memoirist.

An enjoyable evening with Gyles

I hate that I learned about this man on!y just lately,,,, thanks to QI. this was an excellent book about the life and times of Gyles.Who knew,,,, am endeavor ing to read his other books including Lets Eat Gramma. Absolutly recommend this book.