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The audiobook of Roderic Fenwick Owen's memoir Oh, What A Lovely Century will be narrated by actors Callum Scott-Howells, Hugh Skinner and Simon Callow, who will each cover different age ranges of the author’s life.
Written before Owen's death in 2011, the memoir will be published by Sphere on 5th August 2021, alongside the audiobook.
Pictured from left: Simon Callow, Callum Scott-Howells and Hugh Skinner
Owen attended Oxford and Eton and survived many life-threatening jobs during World War Two to become a travel writer. His adventures took him from the Arctic to Australia, America to Russia and he married a Polynesian princess whilst beachcombing in Tahiti. But when a trip to 1950s New York opened his eyes to the fact he was more attracted to men than women, he was forced to continue his quest for his soulmate under threat of danger, at a time when the police were prosecuting and imprisoning more gay men than ever before, including some of his friends, says the publisher.
His memoir will follow his life and career through some of the biggest moments of 20th century history, including experiencing Nazi Germany first-hand in 1939, becoming court poet to the ruler of Abu Dhabi when the oil that would transform the region was discovered and being part of significant conversations in the Pentagon during the Cold War.
Scott-Howells ("It’s a Sin"), will narrate the first part of the memoir, Skinnerwill ("Fleabag") will read the second part, when Roderic was in his 30s and 40s, and finally, Callow ("Four Weddings and a Funeral") will narrate Owen's when he was in his 50s through to his 70s.