Jenni Murray – författare

Much beloved broadcaster Dame Jenni Murray recounts her great love affair with Butch the Chihuahua.There was always a dog. If not real, then imagined.As a lonely only child, Dame Jenni Murray longed to have a dog. She had only Timmy her imaginary pooch for company until her fifth birthday when her parents bought her a beautiful little puppy – Taffy the Corgi. This was to be the start of a life-long passion for man's best friend.Having been a small dog owner all her adult life, in her fifties the arrival of Butch the Chihuahua coincided with the devastating discovery that she had breast cancer. Butch proved to be a devoted source of comfort, love and hilarity at the most difficult time in her life. Making her smile when she wanted to cry and laugh when she needed to the most, Butch was an invaluable source of support and the reassuring presence of this special little dog helped Jenni to make a full recovery.Heartwarming, moving and hilarious at turns, My Boy Butch is a tribute to this oft maligned breed, and to a little dog who made life worth living again.

The only child of an electrical engineer and a mother who resented the fact that she'd never been to university, the broadcaster Jenni Murray grew up in a traditional household in the 1950s. But instead of becoming the conventional housewife her mother expected her to be, Jenni opted to forge her own path in both her career and her personal life.The resulting tensions lasted as long as Jenni could remember. How, she often wondered, could two women be so close, so full of love for each other, and at the same time so full of hate that they broke each other's hearts?And so Jenni began her remarkable memoir - and continued to write as her mother lay dying, and Jenni struggled to care for her and her beloved father while herself being treated for breast cancer.Filled with love and laughter, frustration and heartbreak, and with the courage 'to keep on keeping on' even in the darkest days, Jenni Murray's memoir will speak to every mother and daughter, dutiful or not.

In Is it me or it hot in here? Jenni Murray, one of Britain's most popular journalists and broadcasters, addresses the menopause. She looks at what the menopause is - its symptoms and how it affects overall health. She also looks at the psychological and social implications. There is an overview of the latest research on HRT - its benefits and drawbacks - and the new work which is being done on various 'alternative' therapies. She includes discussions on sex life, social life, face-lifts (or otherwise), exercise (or otherwise), keeping your figure and discovering one's place in life as a middle aged woman in a feminist era. The section on rethinking the menopause looks at changing attitudes and how to cope with post-menopausal life, offering a new agenda for post-menopausal women. Throughout, the tone is inquiring but accessible, making it one of the most appealing books on the menopause written to date.

A poignant, practical, light-hearted and celebratory look at raising boys with a strong and controversial message, asking that parents and the education system take responsibility for the 'feminisation' of boys, in much the same way as attention was paid to the 'masculinisation' of girls. Media and government attention is now being focussed on the fact that girls are outperforming boys academically but no mention is made of what kind of husbands and fathers they will make. With many families stretched to breaking point on the rack of mismatched expectations, boys need guidance on juggling work and family in the same way as girls are expected to; becoming domesticated as well as surviving in the jungle of accepted notions of 'masculinity'. The vital message is that boys, like girls, should have choices and should not be forced into the stereotypical role of the male as absent father or football fan. That's My Boy! covers boys' lives from birth to 18 and discusses everything from how a mother deals with the shock of caring for and maintaining a member of the opposite sex, how to endure hours spent on a rugby touchline, how to read the signs that indicate a longing for physical affection and whether or not to laugh at sexist jokes they bring home.

'A powerful, poignant tale of dieting and despair.' The Times'A moving, brutally honest memoir about what it feels like to be fat-shamed.' Mail on Sunday_______________At sixty-four, Jenni Murray's weight had become a disability. She avoided the scales, she wore a uniform of baggy black clothes, refused to make connections between her weight and health issues and told herself that she was fat and happy. She was certainly fat. But the happy part was an Oscar-worthy performance. In private she lived with a growing sense of fear and misery that her weight would probably kill her before she made it to seventy. Interwoven with the science, social history and psychology of weight management, Fat Cow, Fat Chance is a refreshingly honest account of what it's like to be fat when society dictates that skinny is the norm. It asks why we overeat and why, when the weight is finally lost through dieting, do we simply pile the pounds back on again? How do we help young people become comfortable with the way they look? What are the consequences of the obesity epidemic for an already overstretched NHS? And, whilst fat shaming is so often called out, why is it that shouting 'fat cow' at a woman in the street hasn't been included in the list of hate crimes?Fusing politics, science and personal pain, this is a powerful exploration of our battle with obesity._______________'Agony and confusion, humour and hope. A beautiful book.' Susie Orbach, author of Fat is a Feminist Issue'A perceptive look at health and happiness.' Sunday Express

From the bestselling author of A History of the World in 21 Women They were famous queens, unrecognised visionaries, great artists and trailblazing politicians. They all pushed back boundaries and revolutionised our world. Jenni Murray presents the history of Britain as you’ve never seen it before, through the lives of twenty-one women who refused to succumb to the established laws of society, whose lives embodied hope and change, and who still have the power to inspire us today.

'A powerful, poignant tale of dieting and despair.' The Times'A moving, brutally honest memoir about what it feels like to be fat-shamed.' Mail on Sunday_______________At sixty-four, Jenni Murray's weight had become a disability. She avoided the scales, she wore a uniform of baggy black clothes, refused to make connections between her weight and health issues and told herself that she was fat and happy. She was certainly fat. But the happy part was an Oscar-worthy performance. In private she lived with a growing sense of fear and misery that her weight would probably kill her before she made it to seventy. Interwoven with the science, social history and psychology of weight management, Fat Cow, Fat Chance is a refreshingly honest account of what it's like to be fat when society dictates that skinny is the norm. It asks why we overeat and why, when the weight is finally lost through dieting, do we simply pile the pounds back on again? How do we help young people become comfortable with the way they look? What are the consequences of the obesity epidemic for an already overstretched NHS? And, whilst fat shaming is so often called out, why is it that shouting 'fat cow' at a woman in the street hasn't been included in the list of hate crimes?Fusing politics, science and personal pain, this is a powerful exploration of our battle with obesity._______________'Agony and confusion, humour and hope. A beautiful book.' Susie Orbach, author of Fat is a Feminist Issue'A perceptive look at health and happiness.' Sunday Express

The bestselling history of Britain, told through twenty-one women whose lives enthral and beguile, intrigue and inspire‘Celebrates the defiant spirit of Britain’s groundbreaking heroines… Entertaining.’ Daily MailBritain has traditionally been defined by its conflicts, its conquests, its men and its monarchs. It’s high time that it was defined by its women. In this unique history, Jenni Murray tells the stories of twenty-one women who made history.From famous queens to unrecognised visionaries, great artists to trailblazing politicians, Jenni Murray reveals how these pioneers pushed boundaries and revolutionised our world. This is the history of Britain as you’ve never seen it before, through the lives of women who refused to succumb to the established laws of society, whose lives embodied hope and change, and who still have the power to inspire us today.Join Aphra Behn as she conquers the Restoration stage, giving women a voice in British theatre.Discover how Elizabeth Garrett Anderson took on the medical establishment to become Britain's first female doctor.Find out how Emmeline Pankhurst led the charge for women's suffrage.Learn how Mary Quant's radical designs electrified 1960s Britain. ‘A rare gift.’ Gloria Steinem‘Ideal to press into the hands of young women studying politics and history.’ Independent

From the bestselling author of A History of Britain in 21 Women The history of the world is the history of great women. Marie Curie discovered radium and revolutionised medical science. Empress Cixi transformed China. Frida Kahlo turned an unflinching eye on life and death. Anna Politkovskaya dared to speak truth to power, no matter the cost. Their names should be shouted from the rooftops. And that is exactly what Jenni Murray is here to do.

Mary Wollstonecraft, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, Millicent Fawcett, Emmeline Pankhurst, Constance Markievicz, Nancy AstorThey terrorised the establishment.They fought for the vote.They pushed back boundaries and revolutionised our world.For the hundredth anniversary of the historic moment the franchise was finally extended to women, here is a selection of suffragette and suffragist activists and pioneering MPs from the pages of Jenni Murray’s bestselling A History of Britain in 21 Women. Set against the backdrop of a world where equality is still to be achieved, it is a vital reminder of the great women who fought for change.

Mary Wollstonecraft, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, Millicent Fawcett, Emmeline Pankhurst, Constance Markievicz, Nancy Astor They terrorised the establishment. They fought for the vote. They pushed back boundaries and revolutionised our world. For the hundredth anniversary of the historic moment the franchise was finally extended to women, here is a selection of suffragette and suffragist activists and pioneering MPs from the pages of Jenni Murray’s bestselling A History of Britain in 21 Women. Set against the backdrop of a world where equality is still to be achieved, it is a vital reminder of the great women who fought for change.

From the bestselling author of A History of Britain in 21 WomenThe history of the world is the history of great women.Marie Curie discovered radium and revolutionised medical science. Empress Cixi transformed China. Frida Kahlo turned an unflinching eye on life and death. Anna Politkovskaya dared to speak truth to power, no matter the cost. Their names should be shouted from the rooftops.And that is exactly what Jenni Murray is here to do.