A Pilgrim Soul - reviews
'An outstandingly well -researched and searching portrait of one of this century's few truly controversial British composers'
Nicholas Williams, Classical Music
'Elisabeth Lutyens..was never one to shy away from direct confrontation (she loved a good row) and this spirit seems to have inspired the authors into producing something far more vivid than a run-of-the-mill documentary or extended dictionary entry...The authors present a more broadly truthful and questioning picture than that which she presented in her autobiography, A Goldfish Bowl. As a result, Lutyens comes to life and is palpably there, wreathed in cigarette smoke and swathed in large woolly jumpers worn through at the elbows (or latterly in maternity frocks from Mothercare) talking compulsively and offering triple concentrate stewed tea - or champagne....The authors have handled the job of putting some kind of order upon Lutyens' long productive life with great tact and sensitivity and an admirable, warm-hearted sense of fairness. The book is extremely well-researched, the list of interviews and acknowledgements impressive.'
Brian Elias, Tempo
'A Pilgrim Soul, the first biography of Lutyens....is a carefully researched and beautifully written addition to 20th-century musicology. It makes for compelling reading, even if you have never heard a note of Lutyens' music.'
Andrew Ford, ABC Radio
'The joint authors of this excellent biography have achieved the near-impossible: they have captured the flavour of...Lutyens: original, raffish, vital, funny, impossible, whilst being honest ab9ut her many faults. They tell the story of an extraordinary life whilst giving proper weight and importance to the work of one who must be regarded as one of this century's few significant female composers.'
Bel Mooney, Sunday Times