Book Description
Who could have guessed that the Queen of Perpetual Perfection was headed for a fall' Connor and Downey, the wise guys who brought the civilized world Is Martha Stuart Living', naturally.Long before Martha Stewart's ImClone insider trading troubles made the front pages, the humor duo had started spoofing it up in anticipation of her own previously-announced-but-now-postponed autobiography, Martha, Really and Truly. Now, in Martha, Really and Cruelly, the best-selling humorists deliver their own version of events leading up to the scandal. 'Ours is exactly like hers,' quips Connor. 'Okay, maybe not exactly, but pretty darn . . . well not even close, I guess. Never mind.' From opening chapters on 'Ancestors' and 'Infancy,' cunning, greed, and treachery stalk this faux autobiography. Written in 'Martha's' voice, the book reveals early incidents of unethical playing-house tactics, questionable Kool-Aid stand practices, highly suspect home ec grades, and devious dating strategies. And that's before she's out of her teens! If anyone can take uncannily accurate aim at the Dominatrix of Domesticity, it's the errant Irishmen. Their breakout national best-seller Is Martha Stuart Living' was followed by the best-selling Martha Stuart's Better Than You at Entertaining and Martha Stuart's Excruciatingly Perfect Weddings. Together, the parodies have sold more than 1.2 million copies to date and continue to sell year after year. According to the authors, their latest effort is ' the fourth in the Martha parody trilogy.' As for Martha's likely reaction to the new work' 'It's a bad thing,' no doubt. In the past, she has complained about Connor and Downey's relentless attention to her details. 'When is it going to stop'' she whined to one television interviewer. 'Not anytime in the foreseeable future,' replies Connor, the smaller half of the comedy team, who has a beef of his own. 'What really burns my creme brulee,' he gripes, 'is that every time we write a parody, she comes out with another book.' Lauded by Publisher's Weekly for their high production quality and 'staggeringly accurate' parodies, Connor and Downey fill their latest effort with hilarious black-and-white and color photographs from Martha's 'family' album. It all adds up to a scandalously successful package that will have strong potential as both a front and backlist winner.


About the Author
Tom Connor and Jim Downey are the coauthors and coproducers of eight books, including the three Martha parodies, the Smyth & Hawk?em Gardening Catalog, and Zeguts: Ridiculous Restaurants. Connor contributes to Town and Country magazine. Downey is a successful copywriter.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Who could have guessed that the Queen of Perpetual Perfection was headed for a fall? Connor and Downey, the wise guys who brought the civilized world Is Martha Stuart Living?, naturally. Long before Martha Stewart's ImClone troubles made the front pages, the humor duo had started spoofing it up in anticipation of her own previously-announced-but-now-postponed autobiography, Martha, Really and Truly. Now, in Martha, Really and Cruelly, the best-selling humorists deliver their own version of events leading up to the scandal.

"Ours is exactly like hers," quips Connor. "Okay, maybe not exactly, but pretty darn￯﾿ﾽwell not even close, I guess. Never mind." From opening chapters on "Ancestors" and "Infancy," cunning, greed, and treachery stalk this faux autobiography. Written in "Martha's" voice, the book reveals early incidents of unethical playing-house tactics, questionable Kool-Aid stand practices, highly suspect home ec grades, and devious dating strategies. And that's before she's out of her teens!

If anyone can take uncannily accurate aim at the Dominatrix of Domesticity, it's the errant Irishmen. Their breakout national best-seller Is Martha Stuart Living? was followed by the best-selling Martha Stuart's Better Than You at Entertaining and Martha Stuart's Excruciatingly Perfect Weddings.

Together, the parodies have sold more than 1.2 million copies to date and continue to sell year after year. According to the authors, their latest effort is "the fourth in the Martha parody trilogy."

As for Martha's likely reaction to the new work? "It's a bad thing," no doubt. In the past, she has complained about Connor and Downey's relentless attention to her details. "When is it going to stop?" she whined to one television interviewer.

"Not anytime in the foreseeable future," replies Connor, the smaller half of the comedy team, who has a beef of his own. "What really burns my cr￯﾿ﾽme brulee," he gripes, " is that every time we write a parody, she comes out with another book."