The Glossy Years cover art

The Glossy Years

Magazines, Museums and Selective Memoirs

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The Glossy Years

By: Nicholas Coleridge
Narrated by: Nicholas Coleridge
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Over his 30-year career at Condé Nast, Nicholas Coleridge has witnessed it all. From the anxieties of the Princess of Wales to the blazing fury of Mohamed Al-Fayed, his story is also the story of the people who populate the glamorous world of glossy magazines. With relish and astonishing candour, he offers the inside scoop on Tina Brown and Anna Wintour, David Bowie and Philip Green, Kate Moss and Beyonce and a surreal weekend away with Bob Geldof and William Hague.

The Glossy Years also provides perceptive insight into the changing and treacherous worlds of fashion, journalism, museums and a whole sweep of British society. This is a rich, honest, witty and very personal memoir of a life splendidly lived.

©2019 Nicholas Coleridge (P)2019 Penguin Audio
Art Art & Literature Business Entertainment & Celebrities Journalists, Editors & Publishers Library & Museum Studies Words, Language & Grammar Writing & Publishing Celebrity Witty
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What listeners say about The Glossy Years

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Wonderful happy and fun listen

I spent many fun hours over several frustrating car journeys listening to this wonderful memoir. How can anyone pack in so much into their life and they are still in the fast lane! Energy & positivity with an amusing anecdote on every page. Recommend the audiobook highly for the full experience!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A gilded life

I enjoyed this book - perfect lockdown listening - particularly as i briefly worked in the fashion media when he was starting out.
NC has had a marvellous life with luck and talent hand in hand. He writes and speaks well and I enjoyed the anecdotes and his behind the scenes glimpse of lives in the fast lane.
He’s a lucky chap. And he’s the first to acknowledges his good fortune!

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  • Overall
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I absolutely LOVED this book!

My background and life could not be further from that of Mr Coleridge but I found his memoirs to be a delicious feast of humour, gossip and glamour. It was fascinating. I loved his narration which was delightfully posh with some brilliantly funny voices (especially when doing non-posh folk) and had me laughing out loud.

Somebody wrote a review saying it was too snobby but it isn’t at all, it’s just his life, his world and I am so pleased I bought the book.

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3 people found this helpful

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Very enjoyable

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes an informative / amusing / interesting , book about the magazine world and general culture from the last 30 years .
Well read by the author who hit the perfect note .

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1 person found this helpful

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A really nice way to spend a weekend listening to this charming and entertaining book,and read so well by

A really nice way to spend a weekend listening to this charming and entertaining book,so well read by Nicholas Coleridge

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Not absolutely fabulous


I’m afraid I didn’t like this much despite a lifelong fascination with magazines.

Nicholas Coleridge was born into a privileged and blissfully happy family, then enjoyed a tip top education surrounded by wealthy pals.

His rise to the top was swift and effortless. Work experience on a top glossy, a plum staff job on a newspaper, the editorship of Harper’s and Queen. Along the way he spots a beautiful intern at work, follows her to India and they soon marry. They have four wonderful children. He takes the top job at Condé Nast and everything he touches turns to gold. He has a cohort of close friends, 20 couples he’s known since Cambridge form his inner circle. 50 more couples are his wider gang. Goodness.

There are three problems with this book. 1. Nothing ever goes wrong for this guy. That’s lovely for him but it does not make for an interesting story in any way. (Name-dropping is a poor substitute for drama). 2. He shouldn’t have been given the job of reading the audiobook. It sounds exactly like someone giving an after-dinner speech. His habit of stressing the wrong words is pretty funny. “Chapter FIFTY five”. 3. His cruel impersonations of people who are not rich and fabulous say more about the author than any words on the page.


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9 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Amusing look at a privileged world

If you can get past all of the references to “pretty gals” without having a raging burning sexist sensation then this book is interesting. It certainly gives a glimpse into a world of privilege very few of us inhabit but that runs the country. Some of the anecdotes are very fun though. It was really enjoyable.
If I was Nick Coleridge I would certainly be inclined to change the ending on the next addition. Not luck that’s got your here Nick, it’s entitlement.

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2 people found this helpful

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Great fun and fascinating

Loved Nicholas Coleridge’s account of his career. It races along, always interesting and balances both the glamour of his work and the humanity of his interests.

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  • Overall
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A Yawn from beginning to end.

Almost made it to halfway through book 2 before I submitted to defeat. I could not bear another roll call of names masquerading as a story.

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