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  • Published: 15 July 2006
  • ISBN: 9780552551199
  • Imprint: Corgi
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 544
  • RRP: $35.00

Margrave Of The Marshes



The autobiography of a legend, completed by the woman who knew him best

Through nigh-on forty years of laconic brilliance on Radio 1, a musical taste which defined a culture and his wildly popular Radio 4 show, Home Truths, John Peel reached out to an audience that was as diverse as his record collection. He was a genuinely great Briton, beloved by millions. John's unique voice and sensibility were evident in everything he did, and nowhere is that more true than in these pages.

Margrave of the Marshes is the astonishing book John Peel began to write before his untimely death in October 2004, completed by the woman who knew him best, his wife Sheila. It is a unique and intimate portrait of a life, a marriage and a family which is every bit as extraordinary as the man himself - a fitting tribute to a bona fide legend.

  • Published: 15 July 2006
  • ISBN: 9780552551199
  • Imprint: Corgi
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 544
  • RRP: $35.00

About the authors

John Peel

John Peel was born the day before the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. His 38-year career as a radio DJ is the stuff of legend and the bands he went on to discover too numerous to mention, though David Bowie, Roxy Music, T Rex, Genesis, Joy Division, New Order, The Smiths, Radiohead and the White Stripes would do as a start. He lived in Suffolk with his wife Sheila and their children William, Thomas, Alexandra and Florence, plus various dogs and cats, until his death in October 2004.

John Ravenscroft

John Peel was born the day before the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. His 38-year career as a radio DJ is the stuff of legend and the bands he went on to discover too numerous to mention, though David Bowie, Roxy Music, T Rex, Genesis, Joy Division, New Order, The Smiths, Radiohead and the White Stripes would do as a start. He lived in Suffolk with his wife Sheila and their children William, Thomas, Alexandra and Florence, plus various dogs and cats, until his death in October 2004.

Alexandra Ravenscroft

John Peel was born the day before the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. His 38-year career as a radio DJ is the stuff of legend and the bands he went on to discover too numerous to mention, though David Bowie, Roxy Music, T Rex, Genesis, Joy Division, New Order, The Smiths, Radiohead and the White Stripes would do as a start. He lived in Suffolk with his wife Sheila and their children William, Thomas, Alexandra and Florence, plus various dogs and cats, until his death in October 2004.

Florence Ravenscroft

John Peel was born the day before the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. His 38-year career as a radio DJ is the stuff of legend and the bands he went on to discover too numerous to mention, though David Bowie, Roxy Music, T Rex, Genesis, Joy Division, New Order, The Smiths, Radiohead and the White Stripes would do as a start. He lived in Suffolk with his wife Sheila and their children William, Thomas, Alexandra and Florence, plus various dogs and cats, until his death in October 2004.

Sheila Ravenscroft

Sheila Ravenscroft and John Peel were married in 1974. They lived in Suffolk with their four children - William, Alexandra, Thomas and Florence.

Thomas Ravenscroft

John Peel was born the day before the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. His 38-year career as a radio DJ is the stuff of legend and the bands he went on to discover too numerous to mention, though David Bowie, Roxy Music, T Rex, Genesis, Joy Division, New Order, The Smiths, Radiohead and the White Stripes would do as a start. He lived in Suffolk with his wife Sheila and their children William, Thomas, Alexandra and Florence, plus various dogs and cats, until his death in October 2004.

William Ravenscroft

John Peel was born the day before the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. His 38-year career as a radio DJ is the stuff of legend and the bands he went on to discover too numerous to mention, though David Bowie, Roxy Music, T Rex, Genesis, Joy Division, New Order, The Smiths, Radiohead and the White Stripes would do as a start. He lived in Suffolk with his wife Sheila and their children William, Thomas, Alexandra and Florence, plus various dogs and cats, until his death in October 2004.

Praise for Margrave Of The Marshes

It's like listening to the story of a much missed friend ...

Radio Times

As with the man himself ... there's the surprising, the cosy ... and the fascinating.

GQ

... Tender and acute ... underlines the one truth that Peel understood better than anyone ... [what] really mattered was the music.

Independent on Sunday

... An honest and intelligent book.

Independent

Pure Peel...This magnificent book is the real thing...Essential reading

Sunday Times

A rich and technicolor life... The joy of this book comes from something more than spiky anecdotage, delicious though it is... the evocation of an age is so sharp

The Times

Arguably one of the most important radio broadcasters of the twentieth century... The book bounds through the decades and the characters that populate them with Peel's trademark dry humour

Guardian

Sparkling with the warmth and dry wit that made Peel nothing short of a national treasure, it's a timely reminder of a man who crossed the radio divides

Daily Mail