Elisabeth Sladen: The Autobiography - Elisabeth Sladen > Reviews (1)

19th April 2001. The day Doctor Who fans everywhere were brought to tears.

Elisabeth 'Lis' Sladen has been labelled on more than one occasion as the 'greatest Doctor Who companion'. She first came to our screens in 1973 as Sarah Jane Smith, companion to Jon Pertwee's Doctor, and then Tom Baker's. In 2006, she appeared in Doctor Who Series 2 episode 'School Reunion' with the Tenth (and, in my opinion, best) Doctor, David Tennant, before going on to star in her own TV series: The Sarah Jane Adventures. There's no need to question why Lis Sladen was loved across all generations!

Sadly, in April of this year, the news was revealed that she'd sadly passed away. Caner. Nobody knew she was ill; it was all very sudden, with just two months in between her diagnosis and passing, I believe. It was revealed soon after than her autobiography, simply titled 'Elisabeth Sladen', was to be released in November. Well, November is here, my book arrived on Friday following its release on the 7th, and over the course of two days, I devoured the lot.

I knew it was going to be an emotional read, but I honestly didn't cry as much as I thought I would. We start off with a foreword from David Tennant. Out of all people, I couldn't have asked for a more perfect introduction. Then we get into the actual autobiography...

I'll be honest, there's nothing about this that really makes it different to any other autobiography. That does not mean that it isn't good, just that it's not 'spectacular' in content. We start off by learning about Lis's childhood, a brief encounter with her ancestry and her early days, before we learn about her initial love of acting.

We then go on to learning about her early career days. Once we get to about 100 pages in, enter the TARDIS. The next 150 pages or so out of just short of 350 gives us a great insight into her life as Sarah Jane Smith in the 20th Century. She talks so passionately about her work, and often with great hilarity too. Boy, did she have some stories to tell! She's very honest and open too, which is always an important factor with autobiographies.

The final part is dedicated to her comeback as Sarah Jane, her time on her own show, and a small section about her children too. There's a part where she talks about how Sarah Jane won't be around forever, as she can't regenerate like the Timelord can, and contemplates ways the Sarah Jane Adventures could continue. It's almost as if she knew...

Now this book was actually written before she even found out that she was ill. In that sense, it's quite good as it doesn't feel like her final words. It just feels like a standard autobiography, a good way to stop the tears. However, at the back there are a few pages of words from her daughter Sadie. It was around forty pages towards the end that I began to cry, and broke down entirely at the very end. It was just so...urgh. So beautifiul, but so heartaching.

The book cost me £14 on Amazon.co.uk, which I feel is a reasonable price to pay. It's an absolute delight to read, providing great insight into the acting world and into Sladen's life too. It's a wonderful way for the nation to bid her a final farewell, reading her last published words. If I could only recommend one autobiography, it would be this one. Worth every penny and every tear.

Amy 2011