Anna

September 1, 2022

Fashion icon Anna Wintour is famous, but beyond her role as editor in chief of Vogue and cochair of the annual Met Gala, her life story is unknown to most. Since Wintour reportedly dislikes talking and writing about herself, Odell's meticulously researched biography, written without Wintour's direct involvement, may be the closest readers will get to knowing what's behind the precise bob and the dark sunglasses. Odell charts Wintour's rise from fashion-mad teen growing up in the Swinging London of the late 1960s through her thirty-plus year tenure as Vogue's editor in chief, where she has weathered massive changes in the magazine business. Listeners will be treated to details about the inner workings of her business, as well as overviews of the controversies she faced while at the magazine. Imogen Church, best known for her skilled narration of suspense fiction, uses her considerable talent to enhance Wintour's story, highlighting the gossipy moments with breathless tension and voicing Wintour with a husky British accent that is remarkably similar to Wintour's actual voice. VERDICT This masterful audiobook, both dishy and elegant, will appeal to listeners interested in fashion, magazine journalism, and the lives and career paths of successful businesswomen. Highly recommended.--Nanette Donohue

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 28, 2022
The life and influence of fashion mogul Anna Wintour (b. 1949) gets an engrossing examination in this account from journalist Odell (Tales from the Back Row). The daughter of venerated reporter Charles Wintour, who was deputy editor for the London Evening Standard in the 1950s, Anna was exposed early to the “glamorous and intellectual milieu” of the writing world. This proved advantageous when she began her climb up the magazine ranks in her early 20s, beginning in 1970 at London’s Harpers & Queen, where, as a fashion assistant, she honed her signature “high-low taste.” Following Wintour’s move to New York City in 1975 and her stint of freelance writing gigs that eventually opened the doors to Vogue, Odell’s snappy narrative charts her relentless mission to make the magazine “the biggest, most valuable... in its category” (which she did) by taking the reins as its editor-in-chief in 1988. As Odell relates, “not emotion, not corporate bullshit, and not losing” would stand in Wintour’s way. What scintillates, however, are the intimate details about a famously inscrutable subject—who attributes her signature shades to her “acute light sensitivity” and is a “fiercely devoted” grandmother—as well as the blunt treatment of Wintour’s more problematic sides, including her history of body shaming. This fascinating look at an enigmatic figure will captivate sartorialists and Vogue acolytes.