Let’s Do It: The Authorised Biography of Victoria Wood, I’m sorry to say that I had to give up on this audiobook after about 8 hours. I wasn’t enjoying it and found myself unable to continue.

I was a little unsure about this book just because I was so upset when Victoria Wood died and I still don't feel like I've moved past it. But I loved her work so much how could I not read this book? It begins and ends with her most famous song, Let's Do It, just like the title of the book and so for once I listened on regular speed so I could listen and enjoy her words and music.

This is a long book, I'm normally a little put off by books this long but I will tell you I listened on audiobook and it absolutely flew by. I listened to all 20 hours over about 3 days during my drives to work, in the gym and whilst doing things around the house. I love the fact that this audiobook is narrated by so many different actors and comedians. Celia Imrie, Julie Walters and Duncan Preston to name just a few. I love the fact that these people all had something personal to add to their section of narration and could vouch for the events they were talking about because they were there.

This book has a typical chronological structure for a biography and so we start with Victoria's childhood and the start of her career in writing and performing and then carry on through until the end. There are plenty of personal stories from people and memories along the way but I loved learning about her early work and the struggles she had as a child and then as a teen trying to fit into education. I feel like knowing all of these things about her past made her even more relatable.

One of the things I loved about Victoria Wood was her unabashed exploration of sex, particularly within a marriage from a female point of view and her interest in this and its inclusion in almost all of her material is explored in the book. I can't help but feel that her attitude towards female sexuality was before its time and that fact that she talks and sings about it so openly in her ketches, stand up and songs was always something I admired.

I was blown away by her attention to detail in everything she did, although I do feel like working with her would have been its own kind of challenge and not something I'm sure I could have handled but I definitely came away from this book with a greater depth of respect and admiration for this wonderful performer. When we got the the end of the book, even though I knew it was coming, I did cry, quite a bit and so just be ready for that if you are a fan of her like I am. I really recommend this book even though it left me in tears and took up most of my days whilst I was reading it!

I'm sorry I wasn't able to download the file, but I have enjoyed what I've read from picking up the book and looking at it. My customers have responded well to it as well. Thank you

I really am in two minds about this audiobook.

On the positive side, the narration of this audiobook is great. It is lovely to hear the voices I associate with Wood's many projects - Julie Walters and Celia Imrie among the best known. They can get away with delivering Wood's hilarious lines in the absence of the lady herself.

It is also undeniable that this is beautifully researched and has benefitted from access to Wood's diaries and other source material that others would not have had. In this sense, the book is as comprehensive as it can be and contains some lovely anecdotes and insights into Victoria Wood. She doesn't always come across as she did on screen, but that is to be expected - in real life, she seems to be more of a shy, slightly spiky figure who was a perfectionist in her work. None of this is negative and it certainly gives a perspective on Wood that is new and interesting.

What isn't so good is the sheer amount of information that this book contains. I loved Victoria Wood, but feel that there is just too much packed into this book and it really affects the pace. It feels quite laborious and slow - a shame when its focus is a woman who seemed to have enormous amounts of energy and a perfect sense of pacing to gain maximum (comic) effect.

This is far from being a bad book but, after many hours of listening and an awful lot about Wood's parents and her life as a tiny child, I had to give up. Not something I do easily, but the painstaking detail is just a step too far for me.

This book is far too long and rambling. I listened to 11 hours (9 left to go) and gave up. Victoria deserves better!

I loved Victoria Wood. Her live performances were especially fantastic and my face ached from laughing. I really am interested in learning more about her all too short life. I’m not getting along with this audiobook though. They have certainly lined up a great cast to read it - Julie Walters, Celia Imrie, Anne Reid and others - but it doesn’t seem right hearing VW’s words coming out of others’ mouths. It just falls flat. I would like to physically read this book so that I can ‘hear’ Victoria Wood’s voice. For me, it will be much funnier and much more poignant that way.

I am sad to say that I gave up on this audio book after 6 hours because it became a chore. I loved Victoria Wood, why else would you choose to listen to her biography? This was a well researched but much too wordy book which up until the point I stopped listening was totally without joy.

The different chapters being read by celebrities she was either friends with or worked with saved it as I would never have got as far as I did with a physical book.

I am sorry to write such a negative review when it's painfully obvious how much work has gone into producing Let's Do It.

Victoria Wood was/is one of my favourite comedians - I thought of her as a warm and funny lady and like the rest of the country, probably, i felt I knew her. I did not and do not. Listening to this on audiobook was brilliant- I could listen to the snippets of her songs and sketches and remind myself of her amazing talent. Most importantly I heard the voices of her friends and fellow comedians telling the story of her life, with voices of respect, affection and warmth that added a depth of intimacy. This is a long and comprehensive account and I feel that listening rather than reading it is less dry. The voices are those of beloved comedians and they breathe life into the telling. These are wrapped around with the introduction and conclusion appositely read by the author. The biography is impressive in its coverage - I was fascinated by the evolution of ideas for sketches and shows and by the many staged, up and down journey to stardom. But most of all I loved the account of Victoria as a person - a little girl neglected by her parents,lonely and awkward. So much of her early experience has found its way into her comedy - her battle with weight, social awkwardness, dysfunctional family. It’s a very candid account particularly when discussing her mental health, her marriage and her battle with cancer. I was fascinated and entertained, I laughed and I cried. What a talent, what a life. There is such a sense of the person behind the comedy. As Victoria would say - v.v. Good! With thanks to Netgalley and Trapeze audiobooks for a digital copy of this wonderful biography.

An immense, thoroughly researched book, I listened to the audio version which is 21 hours long! At times I did wish for an editor, the author often quoted from Victoria Wood's sketches or songs which was unnecessary and sometimes didn't work depending on the reader. It was ingenious to get the book read by multiple actors, all of whom had worked with Victoria, which added variety, warmth and extra emotion to the ending as one actor got emotional talking about her illness. The ending is very moving and made me cry.
Victoria Wood was a wonderful talent and this book really does her justice, it shows her intellect, her voracious appetite for reading (3 paperbacks a day!), her passion for her work and determination to get it right. She was human and had flaws, she could be critical, suffered from depression, but her humanity also shines through in this book; from the way she supported charities and individuals whilst also questioning the ethos of Comic Relief sending white comedians to Africa. It also shows the struggles she had to be taken seriously because of her gender and because of her weight, her efforts made it possible for many of the stars we see today.
A wonderful book for her fans but also for anyone who wants to know more about this era of history of comedy, theatre and television.

With thanks to Netgalley.

I listened to this as an audio book and enjoyed listening to friends of Victoria Wood and her fellow entertainers reading each chapter. This is a wonderful appreciation of a complex and multi-talented performer. It is a very detailed and fascinating account of her life, which covers her upbringing, her rise to fame and also details of her personal life, including her battle with cancer. What shines through to me is how highly regarded and respected she was. It was a tad too long for me, but I very much enjoyed it. Thank you to Jasper Rees, Net Galley and Hachette Audio UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've thoroughly enjoyed listening to this Biography. Having never listened to a biography before it was a new one for me.

The fact that each chapter is read by many different people makes it a very interesting listen. I particularly love the Julie Walters and Kate Robins chapters

I've always loved watching Victoria Wood even from being young (and not understanding most of it!) so finding out about her life is good, Such a loss to the entertainment industry,

-Listened to as audiobook-

Let's Do It is a fascinating insight into the life of Victoria Wood who will forever be a national treasure and icon for the British public. She is unlike any comic who came before her and her comedic style is inherently unique.

The beauty of this audio book is that it is narrated by a cast of people who were all so close with Victoria Wood and had worked with her for a number of years. Because of this, the accounts of her life and her work are incredibly detailed (perhaps a bit too much so as the audio book is just over 20 hours long, but they all provide us with an insight into what her thought process might have been throughout the course of her expansive career).

**listened via audiobook**

I'm a huge fan of Victoria Wood - I mean, who isn't? She's amazing!! I was absolutely gutted to hear the news of her death a few years ago. I knew about her body of work, but didn't know much about Wood as a person. Also - why has it taken so long for an authorised biography to come out??!!

This book is incredibly detailed (over 20 hours long!!!!) and left no topic uncovered. I particularly enjoyed the part about Wood writing her musical 'Acorn Antiques'
Due to the book being so long, I did sometimes loose interest - I would have liked it to have been a few hours shorter!!

I loved the use of the different narrators! I loved hearing the voices of those who were closest to Victoria Wood. I would have really liked to have heard their particular views on things, but I guess I'll just have to read their individual books to get that!

This is a MUST for any Victoria Wood fan, or even any wannabe writer/director/musician/comedienne/creative!! Just make sure you have a good 22 hours to listen!!!

This was an intricately detailed journey into the difficult life of Victoria Wood that follows her on her path to becoming Britain’s best loved female entertainer. She was a legend. Brilliantly funny and I have my own fond memories of her from the 80s and 90s. I think if this hadn’t been the audiobook, I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as much, as it is rather long. The vast array of narrators are connected with Victoria in some way; friends, collaborators, colleagues and they’re just perfect. And some of them mimic her beautiful northern tones. This was very revealing into her private life using personal correspondence, journal entries and memories from those in her life. This was very revealing - the consummate perfectionist who consisted of two different personalities; the outgoing and incredibly funny public persona and the incredibly shy real Victoria. She was a genius; as a comedian, a musician, a composer, a writer, an actor - her talents knew no bounds. Very contrasting to the shy real Victoria. The sad ending to her life, a final battle with cancer, had me in tears.

When. I first saw this audiobook on NetGalley a few weeks ago (a fortnight or so), I knew I had to request from the publisher and hope that they would be kind and allow me to listen to it for review. Once I was approved (thank you UK publisher of Trapeze), I started almost immediately!

There is a slight problem with doing reviews or write-ups about biographies and autobiographies, and that is how to rate them. When you rate a book, you got with the writing and the story. But with a biography or an autobiography, people sometimes look at how you rate it or review it and say you’re attacking the subject of the autobiography or biography, and that’s not the case.

Most people, I found, only read a biography or autobiography if they know already that they are going to like the subject and it’s only if something really big happens that changes the person’s mind. So, going into this biography of the late great comedian of Victoria Wood, I knew I was going to like it. I mean, I grew up watching dinnerladies and watching repeats of As Seen on TV, Acorn Antiques and Housewife, 49. I remember dragging my mum to see Acorn Antiques: The Musical up in London so I knew, going into this, that I was going to find this fascinating and insightful

The thing I found really interesting about Victoria’s life while listening to this audiobook was how, at times, Victoria came across as egocentric (actors who work with her on her shows say that you would have to be word perfect with her scripts. You couldn’t say “can’t” if the script says “can not”). Because of this, she comes across as hard to work with and harder to please, though we are told multiply times, though she worked incredibly hard, she was incredibly shy and vulnerable and that could be due to how she grew up.

The audiobook reading was a joy as you had several narrators, each involved in Victoria’s work: Anne Reid, Celia Imrie, Daniel Rigby, David Threlfall, Duncan Preston, Jane Wymark, Julie Walters, Kate Robbins, Richenda Carey, Susie Blake and the author, Jasper Rees (who read the opening and closing chapter). I found the penultimate chapter, read by Anne Reid, very moving and I praise her for this as I sense it must have been a hard chapter to read. Plus, having these people read each chapter gave a much more personal feel. It’s as if you were with friends and they each were telling a story. “Do you remember the time when…”

I do understand some of you guys complains over the length. Believe me, even I was surprised when I was first approved and started listening, expecting it to be around 10 or 12 hours and seeing it was nearly 21. And I do understand of you guys saying “I wish the name-dropping would be less and we saw more of Victoria. Her work and her personal life” and, up to a point, I do agree with you. I do wish some aspects of the book was focused on less and others more, but I think that’s because I am a bit of a nosy so&so, but I understand why some aspects of her life were looked over less than others as Victoria’s children, former husband and family members are still alive and we need to respect their privacy.

I liked listening to this and found it really interesting and engrossing, but I get some fans of Victoria Wood might find this tarnish their memory of Victoria and her works so if you are a fan of her work, I would advise you to think long and hard before going in as, while her works are hilarious, we have to remember she was human and did have flaws.

Victoria Wood was so pithy and funny and used every word so well that this biography doesn't do her justice as it is too wordy. The use of the narrators is great, really saves the book but it needs really good editing and a better look at why she became the genuis she did. All a bit woolly and too long.

Being a huge fan of Victoria Woods work over the years (Dinnerladies being my absolute favourite - I have lost count of the times I have re-watched the episodes) I was so excited to be given the chance to listen to this audiobook. I liked how each chapter was read by a different narrator and I found it very insightful into her life story and career as a comedian, however I did find overall that the audiobook was just too long for me.

When Victoria Wood died, the world lost a genius. This woman was clever, witty and loved by the nation. This book charts Victoria's life right from the start. I found out so much about this woman and love her all the more for it.
What made the book special for me where the narrators. The people who worked with Victoria and loved her. Each chapter read by Britain's own iconic actors. This is a book you show only access by audiobooks as it brings the woman to life.
My only criticism would be the length. At over 19 hours. However, I broke it down into my journey's to and from work.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

This audiobook was mixed for me. The start was interesting, about how she became involved in music which became such a huge part of her comedy act. (Barry and Freida is one if my favourite comedic songs ever) but this audiobook was way too long and some content was unnecessary and slow. I enjoyed the approach of using different actors to read each chapter, that made it much more personal.

I have mixed feelings about this book. The part about Victoria Wood’s childhood was interesting and aspects reminded me of my own experience in the early 1960’s. The part about how her career as a comedian developed and the insight into some of her iconic works was also interesting to some extent but also felt a bit slow at times. Overall a worthwhile read if you are interested in this artist and the folk that worked with her.