Believe Me: A Memoir of Love, Death, and Jazz Chickens

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

"Izzard is one of the funniest people alive, a talented actor, a sharp cross-dresser, an experienced marathon runner, and a great writer. You will have to read this if only to find out what a jazz chicken is."--The Philadelphia Inquirer

With his brand of keenly intelligent humor that ranges from world history to historical politics, sexual politics, mad ancient kings, and chickens with guns, Eddie Izzard has built an extraordinary fan base that transcends age, gender, and race. Writing with the same candor and insight evident in his comedy, he reflects on a childhood marked by the loss of his mother, boarding school, and alternative sexuality, as well as a life in comedy, film, politics, running and philanthropy.

Honest and generous, Believe Me is an inspired account of a very singular life thus far.

Eddie Izzard is a world-renowned comedian, actor, writer, runner, and activist. He made his West End debut in 1993 in a one-man show called Live at the Ambassadors, for which he received an Olivier Award nomination for Outstanding Achievement. He recently appeared on television as Dr. Abel Gideon in Hannibal, and he produced and starred in the FX Networks series The Riches. His films include Valkyrie; Ocean’s Thirteen and Ocean’s Twelve; Across the Universe; Mystery Men; Shadow of the Vampire; The Cat’s Meow; Lost Christmas; Castles in the Sky; and Whisky Galore. His stage appearances include David Mamet’s Race and The Cryptogram; the title role in Marlowe’s Edward II; 900 Oneonta; and A Day in the Death of Joe Egg in London and on Broadway, which garnered him a Tony nomination for Best Actor. Izzard’s hit one-man shows include Dress to Kill, Stripped, and Force Majeure. His performance in Dress to Kill earned him two Emmy Awards. In 2010, the documentary Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story received an Emmy nomination. In 2009, Izzard ran forty-three marathons in fifty-one days throughout the United Kingdom, and in 2016, he ran twenty-seven marathons in twenty-seven days across South Africa in honor of Nelson Mandela’s twenty-seven years in prison. By running these seventy marathons he has helped raise £4.8 million (＄6 million) for the UK charity Sport Relief.