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Alix Kirsta
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The Wizard of Fleet Street...and Me: A Memoir Kindle Edition

by Alix Kirsta (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 5 ratings
See all formats and editions
On a London West End stage, a dancer ends her show-stopping number to rapturous
applause. Young, talented, successful, she nevertheless craves a bigger challenge:
a complete career change. Theatre is losing its magic and she dreams of becoming
a writer. Is she deluded or can her wish come true?

Then the "wizard" enters her life - and turns her world on its head....

The book celebrates the power of mentorship and the impact of unexpected
relationships in shaping our lives. It tells the true story of a young woman's
journey of personal transformation guided by Harold Keeble, her colourful and
eccentric neighbour, a legendary newspaper editor with a mysterious background.
As their unconventional relationship leads her from show business to the
bustling world of Fleet Street, she finds the courage to take risks, leave her
comfort zone - and in time sees her destiny change.

In a memoir that takes us behind the scenes of a vanished era of journalism, the last
days of Fleet Street's "Golden Age", we are also given insights into the workings of TV
and theatre, the glamorous world of glossy magazines, fashion, and the health and beauty
industry with its cosmetics divas, experts and gurus.

At a time when young women and older professionals are increasingly changing careers,
the book is a powerful reminder that with enough passion and inspiration it is possible to
transform one's future.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    247 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    April 23, 2024
  5. Reading age
    14 - 18 years
  6. File size
    1567 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0D2LH8ZZX
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Little Venice Press (April 23, 2024)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 23, 2024
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1567 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 247 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 5 ratings

About the author

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Alix Kirsta

Alix Kirsta

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London-born Alix Kirsta was raised in a Russian-Austrian theatrical family. After a brief early career in show business she turned to writing, becoming a non-fiction author and journalist initially specialising in health, psychology, medicine and beauty.

A fluent German and French speaker often reporting from France, Italy, Austria and the USA , she has gone on to write about subjects as diverse as crime and corruption, unsolved murders, the art market, post traumatic stress, female aggression, Nazi-looted art, cults and fringe religions. Her stories have appeared in The Times and Sunday Times, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail and Vogue and many other publications.

Alix is also the author of non-fiction books including Victims, Deadlier Than The Male, Stress Survival, Manhattan Murder Mystery and Island of the Damned. A new memoir, The Wizard of Fleet Street…and me, is due to be published in Spring 2024.

In between researching new and controversial stories to report, she writes a regular blog on her website commenting on breaking news and trends beginning to take off around the world.

Customer reviews

5 out of 5 stars
5 out of 5
5 global ratings

Top review from the United States

Georgina Callan
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating personal narrative of London and women's journalism
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2024
Verified Purchase
Read the book straight through, fascinating, and you don't need to have lived or worked in London in the 1980s and beyond to appreciate the honesty, empathy, and insights of the writer. She captured a moment in time while contributing a personal emotional perspective that many people could relate to, women of many different ages. Looking forward to a re-read -- it's that good.
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Top reviews from other countries

G. Gillespy
5.0 out of 5 stars A young girl and her Fleet Street mentor
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 3, 2024
Verified Purchase
This is a brilliant book about a decades-long friendship between the older Harold Kibble – the Wizard of Fleet Street – and Alix Kirsta, a young show girl moving into journalism and then into book writing. Alix and Harold are next door neighbours. The tale of successful mentoring is told in the colourful and, at times, surreal letters from Harold to Alix as well as from Kirsta’s crisp and engaging prose. The two main characters come alive in the page; we learn a lot about them and about life in London show-business and in journalism in the decades before Thatcher. How Marlene Dietrich’s skin was propped up to make the 70+ years old look youngish and ready for the London theatre show. How snobbism was rife at the HQs of Estée Lauder in New York. And much, much more emerging from amusing or serious incidents in London theatreland and Fleet Street.
Grazia
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Annie R
5.0 out of 5 stars Fasxinating and Moving
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 3, 2024
Verified Purchase
This book is a moving and fascinating story of two lives - the Wizard and Alix's intriguing career. I loved it and couldn't;t put it down. It helped that I too have been touched by the magic of Fleet Streett over the years. It hinges on a relationship between a talented and creative individual moving from a life in showbiz to a life in journalism, helped by her Mentor - who was truly one of Fleet Street's greats. It's a must-read.
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mrs nicola w beal
5.0 out of 5 stars Sensitive and fascinating
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 9, 2024
Verified Purchase
A sensitive and fascinating book describing the world of an up and coming journalist and her friendship with her neighbour, a renowned newspaper editor who was to become her mentor in her new career and her great friend. This is told using their letter and notes over decades. I thoroughly recommend it.
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