Imprint
- Hodder Paperbacks
- Hodder & Stoughton
Biography: general, Autobiography: general, Prose: non-fiction
GYPSY BOY is the first commercial memoir written by someone on the inside of the notoriously secretive culture of the Romany Gypsies.
Mikey was born into a Romany Gypsy family. They live in a closeted community, and little is known about their way of life. After centuries of persecution Gypsies are wary of outsiders and if you choose to leave you can never come back.This is something Mikey knows only too well.Growing up, he rarely went to school, and seldom mixed with non-Gypsies. The caravan and camp were his world.
But although Mikey inherited a vibrant and loyal culture his family s legacy was bittersweet with a hidden history of grief and abuse.Eventually Mikey was forced to make an agonising decision to stay and keep secrets, or escape and find somewhere he could truly belong.
More books by Mikey Walsh
Praise for Gypsy Boy: The bestselling memoir of a Romany childhood
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It was a revelation. Moving, terrifying, funny and brilliant. I shall never forget it - an amazing achievement - Stephen Fry
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Touching, insightful, funny and incredibly shocking **** - HEAT
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Explosive, sparkling and hugely entertaining - this is a twisted fairytale from a truly original mind - Hayley Atwell, star of The Duchess and Brideshead Revisited
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Gypsy Boy is a brilliant but bittersweet story, which reads like a magical fairytale. Although he could be excused for doing so, Mikey never descends into self pity - and has found the perfect balance between humour and harsh reality. Gypsy Boy sits somewhere between the grittiness of Irvine Welsh, and the charming warmth of Frank McCourt. - Dermot O'Leary
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best memoir since Running with Scissors - Attitude
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Mikey Walsh's memoirs were an unexpected smash hit last year and the audiobook version is every bit as enjoyable. - HEAT
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Brash and frightening and funny -- tonally, think of Frank McCourt meeting Axl Rose. - The New York Times
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In this violent yet often comic memoir, Walsh writes of life as an English Gypsy.... Gypsy Boy feels, in all its cocky, awkward affection and anguish, like the real deal. - The Boston Globe
Mikey Walsh
Mikey Walsh was one of the first Romany Gypsies ever to write a book. He grew up living in a caravan on sites across the UK, and had hardly any schooling. He taught himself to read and write, and his first book Gypsy Boy published in 2008 and became a Number 1 Bestseller. It sold all over the world and a film adaptation is in the works as a joint production between BBC Films and Bowery & Bond.
Mikey's second book, Gypsy Boy on the Run follows Mikey as he leaves the Gypsy camp, and takes his first steps in to the real - Gorgia - world, to find a place to belong.
Mikey has had overwhelming support from all over the world since the publication of Gypsy Boy, including Stephen Fry who tweeted, 'It was a revelation. Moving, terrifying, funny and brilliant. I shall never forget it - an amazing achievement'. Attitude magazine called it 'the best memoir since Running with Scissors' and even Dermot O'Leary and Dannii Minogue have reviewed it.
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