Anna

The Biography

By: Amy Odell

Narrated by: Imogen Church

This definitive New York Times bestselling biography of Anna Wintour, now featuring a new afterword, follows the steep climb of an ambitious young woman who would—with singular and legendary focus—become one of the most powerful people in media.

As a child, Anna Wintour was a tomboy with no apparent interest in clothing but, seduced by the miniskirts and bob haircuts of swinging 1960s London, she grew into a fashion-obsessed teenager. Her father, an influential newspaper editor, loomed large in her life, and once he decided she should become editor-in-chief of Vogue, she never looked back.

Impatient to start her career, she left high school and got a job at a trendy boutique in London—an experience that would be the first of many defeats. Undeterred, she found work in the competitive world of magazines, eventually embarking on a journey to New York and a battle to ascend, no matter who or what stood in her way. Once she was crowned editor-in-chief of Vogue—in one of the stormiest transitions in fashion magazine history—she continued the fight to retain her enviable position, ultimately rising to dominate all of Condé Nast.

Named one of Time’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2022, this in-depth and revealing biography is based on extensive interviews with Anna Wintour’s closest friends and collaborators. Weaving Anna’s personal story into a larger narrative about the hierarchical dynamics of the fashion industry and the complex world of Condé Nast, Anna charts the relentless ambition of the woman who would become an icon.

©2022 Amy Odell. All riSimon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.ghts reserved (P)2022 Simon & Schuster Audio

Extremely well written biography

I loved this biography. Amy Odell did exhaustive research and interviews from Anna’s early life to the present. The people associated painted a vivid picture of a person who is such and enigma in so many ways. The reader is very reserved. Others have found her boring but I felt that she was a perfect tone for a woman who is half-British and publicly, very reserved. Great read!

Storyline was okay until it turned political at the end.

I Don’t want to learn about her view of politics. We hear enough about that in the news.

Read this 3x

Fascinating story, very well done, with a well matched voice narrating it. I have re listened.

I loved this book and learned a lot!

This is a fantastic book - you begin to understand the real Anna Wintour.

So smart! So hard working! That was my impression of her through all the whining that was "The Devil Wears Prada" (love that Anna WORE Prada to the movie premiere...).

Amy Odell is a terrific biographer - so much more interesting to learn about the real person than read a biased hatchet job.

Thank you. Just subscribed to Vogue!

Fantastic but over dramatic narration

I rarely enjoy biographies. I’m more of a fiction listener. But this book is fantastic. One reviewer mentioned it’s too bad there’s not more on her personal life. I think the fact that 98% of the book is about her work, IS about her personal life. The fact that her work life dominates her and leads to failures in her relationships is the partly the point. Who knows how much of this is true, and if you know anything about Anna Wintour much of it isn’t surprising. But hearing about more of the intricate details, and about some of her comments, it’s amazing. Who knows how much of it is true but it sure is entertaining. However the narrator is overly dramatic in her reading. There are a few words she mispronounces which is annoying. Producer should have caught that. But overall I very much enjoyed this book and her story.

Gorgeous

It was exquisite. Well written and well preformed, it was as interesting as it was informative and thrilling.

I picked up the book out of curiosity.

Yes, I knew Anna Wintour was the person behind the Met Galas, but I didn’t know anything about Anna. Amy Odell has taken care of it. I got so absorbed in the book, I started looking online for the Vogue covers she was referencing. I really liked how the reader was lowering her voice to indicate it was another person talking for the most part it worked well for me. Sometimes, though I wasn’t sure if the lowered voice was supposed to be Anna speaking about the person, the person, or the narrator. Anyway, liked the book.

So interesting

Loved this book. As opposed to The Devil Wears Prada which serves ‘Anna the stereotype’, this book gives you a view of Anna the woman. Incredibly smart and driven. Devoted to family. Few close friends but those in her inner circle (like Tally) she will support even if they betray her. She has made both good and bad decisions and has owned them both. A true icon but not speak about her self. Enjoys her role as philanthropist and advisor to the fashion world. Long live Dame Winter!

Interesting but kind of dry

Interesting because it’s about Anna. It’s well researched. But yeah ends up reading a bit dry.

Lifting the (symbolic) skirt of Vogue’s powerful editor

A workman-like but solid and well reported bio of Vogue’s powerful editor is not fully authorized but treats her more than fairly while slipping in her miscues, blunders, and cultural blindness at a time publishing and the world were undergoing massive changes. Anna Wintour (pronounced winter) is very much a reflection of her background growing up in England daughter of a Matabele newspaper editor as fashion shifted from the traditions of the past to the update heavens of the 50s and 70s and beyond. She rose to become the most powerful editor in western fashion and lived a royal life. She still does but times have changed and the world of publishing glossy magazines has has been turned on it’s head by the digital revolution, she created Ed the modern Met gala full of celebrity over indulgence and continues to rule over much of high fashion. But the arrival of jeans and more casual socialization has shrunk her dominance. For anyone obsessed with fashion or changes in publishing this is worth a listen.