Everyone makes mistakes. Dawn French wants the reader to understand that she’s no different to us in that regard. She’s made mistakes all her life and has decided that they would make for an interesting autobiography. She’s right … it is interesting and entertaining, if a little scatty. The title makes use of a very English put-down, not quite translating to Australian English, but she explains its affectionate usage at the beginning.
I’m still not sure of the intent of The Twat Files epigraph. It reads, ‘Ad gloriam macularum’, which translates as ‘To the glory of spots’. A more popular – and possibly appropriate – Latin adage is Ad gloriam maculatum: tainted glory. Intentional? Accidental? A tongue-in-cheek mistake? I’m not sure … but it seems to fit with the concept of the book.
French humiliated herself throughout adolescence. The highlight/lowlight of her marriage to Lenny Henry was inappropriate fancy dress. Her parenting has been marked by failing to take her children’s needs seriously. Despite her name, her French is appalling. Her serious efforts at it were mistakenly thought to be comedy. She seems to make a habit of being ‘twatty’ in the presence of famous people. Some mistakes, such as during the filming of the last episode of French and Saunders, she still doesn’t understand.
French takes multiple detours. ‘Anyhoo, I digress’, is an accurate indicator. This is also an opportunity for her to apologise to people she’s hurt, but mostly there’s fun to be had within these pages.
Reviewed by Bob Moore
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dawn Roma French (is a British actress, comedian, presenter and writer. French is known for writing and starring on the BBC comedy sketch show French and Saunders with her best friend and comedy partner, Jennifer Saunders, and played the lead role as Geraldine Granger in the BBC sitcom The Vicar of Dibley. She has been nominated for seven BAFTA TV Awards and won a BAFTA Fellowship with Saunders in 2009.
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