''Wonderful Today'', subtitled ''The Autobiography'', is the 2007 autobiography by English former
fashion model
A model is a person with a role either to promote, display or advertise commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as a visual aid for people who are creating works of art or to pose for photography. Thoug ...
and photographer
Pattie Boyd
Patricia Anne Boyd (born 17 March 1944) is an English model and photographer. She was one of the leading international models during the 1960s and, with Jean Shrimpton, epitomised the British female look of the era. Boyd married George Harri ...
, written with journalist and broadcaster
Penny Junor
Penelope Jane Junor (born 6 October 1949) is an English journalist and author.
Early life and education
Born in Leatherhead, Surrey, Junor was educated at Benenden School in Kent. Her father was the newspaper editor Sir John Junor and her bro ...
.
It was published by
Headline Review
Headline Publishing Group is a British publishing brand and former company. It was founded in 1986 by Tim Hely Hutchinson. In 1993, Headline bought Hodder & Stoughton and the company became Hodder Headline Ltd. In 1999, Hodder Headline was acqui ...
in Britain, on 23 August 2007, and by
Harmony Books
Harmony Books is an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, itself part of publisher Penguin Random House. It was founded by Bruce Harris, a Crown executive, in 1972.
The imprint has been used for such books as:
* Jill Freedman, ''Circus Days'' ...
in the United States, where it was titled ''Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Me''.
Beginning with her childhood in
Kenya
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...
, the book covers Boyd's modelling career in London during the 1960s, her marriage to and divorce from
Beatle George Harrison and later marriage and divorce of Harrison's best friend,
Eric Clapton.
The book's title is in reference to Clapton's 1977 song "
Wonderful Tonight
"Wonderful Tonight" is a ballad written by Eric Clapton. It was included on Clapton's 1977 album '' Slowhand''. Clapton wrote the song about Pattie Boyd. "the hard-rock pioneer and guitar god also become a soft-rock star in the mid-1970s. He c ...
", which he wrote about Boyd.
Reception
Reviewing ''Wonderful Today'' for ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was f ...
'',
Lynn Barber
Lynn Barber (born 22 May 1944) is a British journalist who has worked for many publications, including ''The Sunday Times''.
Early life
Barber attended Lady Eleanor Holles School in south-west London. While she was studying for her A-Levels she ...
described it as "absolutely gripping" and a memoir that "gives more insight into the weirdness of rock-star life than anything I have ever read". Simon Vozick-Levinson of ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...
'' gave the book a B+ rating and wrote: "Boyd pads her pages with a few too many humdrum memories, but her detailed chronicle of her legendary exes' slides into infidelity and substance abuse will thrill classic-rock buffs with a taste for scandal." In her review for ''
The Austin Chronicle
''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...
'',
Margaret Moser
Margaret Moser (May 16, 1954 – August 25, 2017), or Margaret Moser Malone, was an American journalist, music enthusiast, critic and historian, groupie, and backup singer. She was best known for her work as the director of the Austin Music Awar ...
described it as "a sweet, sad memoir that rings true", with the best chapters dedicated to Boyd's life in the 1960s through to the end of her marriage with Clapton, after which she "turns the mirror inward, and the book becomes SFF – strictly for fans".
In the United States, the book debuted at the top of the
''New York Times'' Best Seller list. In an interview the following year, for the website
entertainment.ie
''Entertainment.ie'' is an Irish web company based in Dublin. The company provides news and reviews of programs and films for TV and the cinema. It also provides information on upcoming comedies, festivals, theater shows and music in Ireland, a ...
, Boyd said she was surprised at the extent of the book's success.
References
Music autobiographies
2007 non-fiction books
Books about the Beatles
George Harrison
Eric Clapton
Headline Publishing Group books
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