“You’ll walk away knowing every step—and misstep—in Wintour’s famous ascent.”
—The New York Times
Anna
The Biography
Description
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.
Reviews
“Having interviewed over 250 sources (many of whom are unforgettable and quotable characters themselves)… Odell takes readers through Wintour's lifelong love of fashion, her personal life and romantic relationships, and, primarily, her decades-long career... While Odell's nimble writing moves at a clip, the extent and detail here make this perfect for fashion devotees and fans of publishing industry tales as Anna's career coincides with sea changes in magazine journalism.”
—Booklist, Starred review
“The secret to [Anna’s] longevity is the subject of Odell’s biography, which is drawn from interviews with Wintour’s tightknit inner circle. Given that she’s famously private and notoriously aloof, the participation of intimates in the book’s reporting indicates a green light from Wintour herself. But Odell is unsparing, detailing Wintour’s ambitious rise and ruthless power grabs, dotting the narrative with a healthy amount of gossip and color.”
—Bloomberg Businessweek
“What scintillates…are the intimate details about a famously inscrutable subject…as well as the blunt treatment of Wintour’s more problematic sides…. [a] fascinating look at an enigmatic figure.”
–Publisher’s Weekly
