Sheila Hancock does not hold back when it comes to expressing her rage, and the way she tells it is simply delightful. I found it very interesting to hear her views on current issues - including Boris and Brexit - something that many celebrities shy away from, but I guess by the age of 89 you really do not care much what others think and it is this that makes the book what it is. Great read and one that I would highly recommend.

Many thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing and NetGalley for the review copy.

Enjoyed this warts add all tell all book come autobiography by Sheila Hancock which is told with wit, humour and honesty.

I greatly admire her acting and really enjoyed listening to her thoughts.

Different from previous books by her but just as entertaining.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting read that was very funny in parts. I can see why some people would love this book and Sheila is a great narrator of her life and opinions- I unfortunately found it a little slow to get into and struggled through it in places

This is a book that will just have you Laugh out loud!!!! Old Rage by Sheila Hancock was a funny and excellent book and still looking great at OMG 89 years old and still got her wits about her. This book is not for everyone as Shelia says things out loud what she is thinking! and has no problems in saying what she thinks! Then again I wouldn't if I was her age! Well done to her. She has achieved so much in her life. Hats off to her.

I Loved Old Rage and all of your books she has written and read them all!

I highly recommend this book and a great insight if we ever reach this age!

Big Thank you so much to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for a digital copy of this book this book was a real treat and I loved it.

I didn’t really know much about Sheila Hancock before reading this, but this was an eye opener of her life and what she’s got up to.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

I adore Sheila Hancock - and this was a book I was super excited to read! However, it turns out I was super disappointed!
This book was slow, and flat. I didn't get any of the humour that Hancock usually has when being interviewed or in her previous books.
I didn't like how it was written in a diary style, it just felt ploddy. "And then I did this, and then I did that"type of thing.
Really gutted!

Didn't like this at all.

‘Old age should burn and rave at close of day.”

I have loved Sheila Hancock in her many guises - in tv drama, on radio comedy shows…for many years..and as the partner of the beloved and wonderful John Thaw.
Old Rage would probably make a better audiobook than a physical book. It is an outpouring…sometimes a rant, sometimes a reminisce, fuelled by emotions and memories..I could hear Sheila’s voice throughout and I would love to hear her actually reading this..
At first I was a little unsettled by the format - it is loose and fluid like a conversation which switches backwards and forwards between dates and ideas. Unconstrained by order, or real structure it flows like thoughts from the mind…which can appear random and sometimes the thread is difficult to grasp. This might be called a memoir but it is more than that..not for nothing is the title, ‘Old Rage.’ Sheila has something to to say…quite a lot in fact.
Views about Brexit, universal education, decent pay for NHS staff…punctuate memories of the author’s life, her family, her life on stage and the actors and mortals she has met along the way. As an older woman who shares so many of the author’s viewpoints this was a sheer delight. For me she talks so much common sense and I would happily rage by her side. What I loved most of all though was the sense of a long life, the witness to events - a world war, and to stars of the stage from long ago…Kenneth More, Kenneth Williams, James Mason..Margaret Lockwood. Reading these names connected me to memories of my own. This is a lady who has seen World War, learned to use Zoom and WhatsApp, acted on stage with the greats and walks the deserted streets of London during the pandemic. And then there is the revelations of a personal life lived through family bereavement, illness and crisis..and her own mortality.

A really lovely, fascinating and human account. Thank you so much to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for a digital copy of this book,

would like to thank netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this absorbing book

my first book by this author and actress sheila hancock and i have to say i thoroughly enjoyed it, loved the way that she wrote, like it was just out of the horses mouth and at times i would laugh out loud at some of the antics she got up to

poignant moments of her lifes works and how dare she get old, how on earth did that happen, it surprises us all, but i loved every moment of reading this book and will be looking for her other books to catch up on as i feel i have missed out

I've always enjoyed the work of Sheila Hancock both on tv and in film and followed the career of both her and her late husband John Thaw since I used to live in their neighbourhood and would see them out and about often in my daily life. I'm also someone who has a lot of time and admiration for anyone who is honest and open and who speaks their mind. So i was keen to pick up this book to see what Ms Hancock had to say at the age of almost 90 having had a lengthy and distinguished career and many decades of rich life experience,

This book was written over a period from 2016 to 2020 and promised much as a gentle record of her later years. However while I learned a lot about the author that I had not gleaned from reading her previous memoirs and found the writing very funny at times, I was rather disappointed in its contents. I really was not expecting the vast majority of the content being focused on political comment and rants about Brexit and while it was interesting to read from the perspective of an older person and their experiences living in Europe through the decades from the 1940's onwards, I would have preferred more of her experience in lockdown and perhaps musings on humanity and society during the Covid 19 pandemic possibly even encompassing life lessons or advice..

If you are at all interested in the topic of Brexit and the thoughts of someone who is passionate about their political beliefs then this would be an entertaining and engaging read . However if like me you are more curious about this author. her career and her personal life then I would suggest you pick up Just Me and The Two Of Us instead.

I am a fan of Sheila’s work, and the work of her late husband John Thaw, and she’s always been a presence on British screens, so I was excited to read this. She doesn’t shy away from telling her own opinions and that’s missing in todays world when everyone is so scared of saying the wrong thing.

I realised that maybe I wasn’t as much of a wordsmith as I thought I was, as she uses a lot of words that I didn’t understand and had to look up, so prepare yourself for feeling like an English language novice.

She has been very honest in this book and it’s not always easy to read.

In my opinion, I did feel there was too much ranting about politics and Brexit for my taste, but it’s clearly a passionate topic for her. I would have preferred more about her as a person and her life and career, but maybe she’s done that in her previous books. It’s very much a rambling, like we’re being invited into her world for a chat.

If I’m being honest, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I was a little disappointed overall, but there were some interesting passages and it definitely gives you a feel for the changes in the industry and in the world.

My thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing PLC for a copy of “Old Rage.” For an honest review.

What a delight of a read this book was !
Dame Sheila Hancock is a national treasure, and with her long and illustrious career as an actress you can hear her wonderful voice in every page, as if she is chatting to you.
As someone who has lived such a varied and long life, she has reached the age when she isn’t afraid to share her thoughts and opinions, so many of which I totally agreed with.
A large part of this book covers the lockdown , and what a leveller it was to us all.A time to reflect on things of real importance in life and make changes where we can.
I was really interested to read about her Quaker beliefs and how they affect her daily life.
I think it’s wonderful to know that even as the body grows weaker the rage against common sense and injustice doesn’t have to subside.
I really hope that this isn’t her final book and long May she keep on raging !

Sheila has definitely lived a full and interesting life, this is an autobiography for anyone who grew up in the 80s for an incite into the behind the scenes of her life

In her latest book, the grand dame of British acting, Sheila Hancock, takes vicious yet educated swipes at Brexit, bereavement, British television and the state of the nation compared to her wartime childhood.
Written during lockdown, “Old Rage” was born out of this extended time of isolation, giving Sheila time to reflect on her acting career, her family and her strongly-held beliefs; many of which might surprise or even offend some readers, but Sheila Hancock tells it like it is.
“Old Rage” is in no way a metaphorical title: this is a brutally honest and fiercely funny book by a lady who has pretty much seen it all, and may yet have some life left in her. It is unapologetic, irrepressible and a must-read.

Old Rage by Sheila Hancock

I really enjoyed Sheila's biography and this ' add ' on is no different . She writes with a brutal honesty of getting older and possibly a little grumpier especially during the first covid lockdown . She reflects on acting as an older person and the pain and pleasure that brings . Long may she carry on in rude health !