The Leopard in my House

Just like you might bet he would, Mark Steel has given us a deep, personal, clever, witty, painful and hilarious book. His eye lingers on details of the past, present and a possible future, taking us all the way to an answer for ‘what’s the bloody point anyway?’ He shows (not tells) that the answer might be to live and feel life the way he does. Thanks Mark Steel. – Michael Rosen, author of ‘Getting Better’Funny, moving, wise and then very funny again. It’s also a very spiritual and philosophical book for a foul-mouthed atheist from Swanley. Final score; Cancer: 1, Mark Steel: 5. – John O’Farrell, author of ‘Family Politics’There are enough cancer memoirs to fill a small bookshop, with bookcases for all the affected body parts. It can feel churlish to apply critical faculties to this of all subjects, but if there is a high bar for the genre, then it’s one Mark Steel clears like Dick Fosbury on a good day… The ride we accompany him on is inspiring and invariably very funny. – Simon Usborne * The Guardian *The challenges of navigating the healthcare system are legion, but as this clear-eyed, humane and engaging book makes repeatedly and abundantly clear, without the NHS’s central tenet – if you are ill, you will be helped – we are completely sunk. – Alex Clark * Observer *Clear-eyed, humane and engaging – Alex Clark * Observer *The ride we accompany him on is inspiring and invariably very funny * Guardian *This memoir pulls no punches but manages to be both funny and wise. Laughter isn’t the best medicine, but this book would be a tonic for anyone undergoing cancer treatment. * Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller, Books of the Month *

Sony and Writers’ Guild Award-winning writer and comedian Mark Steel is best known for his critically acclaimed BBC Radio 4 show Mark Steel’s in Town. Mark has presented the BAFTA-nominated Mark Steel Lectures for BBC Two, and is a regular on BBC One’s Have I Got News for You and BBC Radio 4’s The News Quiz. He has also written several acclaimed books, including Reasons to be Cheerful and What’s Going On? He has also written an adaptation of his critically acclaimed stand-up show Who Do I Think I Am? for Audible, which was released in 2021.