Details of Publication - Apex Publishing Ltd.

The Half a Million Pound Girl: The Autobiography of Sarah Burge
	Author: Sarah Burge and Derek Clements Foreword by: Alley Einstein Classification: Autobiography Sorry this book is Out Of Print	Brief Description: Sarah Burge has led no ordinary life. Perhaps better known as the ‘Real Life Barbie’ because of her extensive plastic surgery, Sarah has recently become a darling of the press but her life has by no means always been easy. The Half a Million Pound Girl documents Sarah’s life from aspiring Italia Conti student, through a spell as a prostitute and beautician, making-up dead bodies in a funeral parlour, to training as a beauty consultant and having £500,000 worth of plastic surgery. Sarah’s rollercoaster ride of a book also describes her dangerous affair with the married Arab who almost killed her, sleeping with George Best and her liaison with a vicar. She also spills the beans about her bizarre relationship with Hollywood actor Telly Savalas and how she got used to the high life whilst working as a Playboy Bunny. In this honest account, Sarah describes meeting first husband, John, how he abducted their daughter after the relationship broke down and how the wedding photographs from her second marriage prompted her to have her first cosmetic operation. These days, Sarah is an international celebrity and has appeared in the press and on TV and radio in the UK, Japan, Europe and Australia. She is a qualified Harley Street consultant and is in constant demand for interviews and photoshoots. This no holds barred autobiography is the story of a true survivor and a remarkable woman whose warmth and humour have enabled her to repeatedly triumph over adversity.

Special Note: This book is now out of print.

About the Author: Sarah Burge: Sarah Burge grew up in Croydon during the 1960s. Her first experience of life in the limelight came when her policeman father famously arrested John Lennon for drug possession. Sarah attended the Italia Conti stage school with contemporaries Lena Zavaroni, Leslie Ash, Tracey Ullman, Peter Duncan and David Van Day. However, the beautiful but naïve teenager fell prey to the charms of a man who groomed her as a teenage prostitute. At 17, Sarah became a Playboy Bunny and enjoyed an extravagant lifestyle for a while until it emerged that she was underage. The next few years saw Sarah appearing as a key witness at her property developer boss’s trial, working as a lapdancer and making up bodies in a funeral parlour. A turbulent period in Sarah’s life then followed during which time she was badly beaten by a married Arabian boyfriend, was wrongly diagnosed with MS, had an affair with a vicar and her beloved brother Hollywood actor Trevor Goddard died. Sarah went on to take her beauty qualifications and became a living advert for a cosmetic surgery business, undergoing numerous operations. When news of Sarah’s extensive plastic surgery broke in the media, during a benefits fraud case, she became dubbed the ‘Real Life Barbie’. The press couldn’t get enough of her. Today, Sarah has an international profile having appeared in the press, on TV and radio in several countries. A qualified Harley Street consultant, Sarah has worked alongside prominent surgeons for many years. She runs her own beauty practice and is the founder of online magazine http://www.humanHi.com. Sarah lives in Cambridgeshire with her husband Tony and has three daughters. She campaigns against domestic violence and intends to donate a portion of the profits from her autobiography to charity. You can find out more about Sarah by visiting http://www.thesarahburge.com
Derek Clements: Derek Clements enjoyed a successful career as a journalist for many years before leaving the profession in 2008 to try his hand at writing books. In the past Derek has worked for many of the country’s leading newspapers, including 12 years spent with The Sunday Times. Since making the decision to leave journalism, Derek has been busy working on several exciting projects including ghostwriting ‘Working With Children and Animals’ with actress Liza Goddard. Derek was born in Glasgow but now lives in Suffolk with his wife. He has one grown-up son.

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-- Purchasing Information

	Paperback	Hardback
Publication Date:		15 July 2011
ISBN: ISBN 13:		1-906358-88-5 978-1-906358-88-4
Page Extent:		250
Book Size:		234x156mm
Price:		£15.99
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Publication Date:	15 July 2011
Digital eBook ISBN 13:	978-1-908548-04-7
Digital pdf ISBN 13:	978-1-907792-89-2


	Based on Amazon's Kindle Store

-- Reviews by the Famous and well Known

When I first met Sarah Burge or as many of you know her the Human Barbie I assumed she’d be a vacant air head obsessed with beauty with nothing between her ears. I expected when I asked how was she, to hear nothing but vacuous chatter about her various surgeries and lots of blonde hair flicking.
Instead for once I was proven wrong. As a journalist I’ve interviewed world leaders, celebrities, royalty and normal folk. Everyone has a story to tell. I know now that’ Sarah’s story is more fascinating than most celebs and even a few world leaders.
Behind the veneer of plastic surgery, makeup and hair extension lies a woman who until know has been too frightened to reveal the real Sarah. The publicity she received as THE HUMAN BARBIE made the world think that’s all she was. However scratching beneath the surface and after hundreds of emails and phone calls and meetings I discovered much more.
Sarah is a lioness of a mother. She adores her three children and yes controversially has made headlines in stories with them. However in her view like her the kids have to face the cameras and by opening up her home and telling the world what they get up to helps them cope better with celebrity and prepares them for business. Some say why? Others say Why Not.
I cried buckets the day I read Sarah’s account of being a domestic abuse victim. This wasn’t some made up tale but a real life experience she suffered at the hands of a former partner. Not many people know this about her. She hides it well. The beatings and rapes she endured were awful – no one deserves that. She was beaten to a pulp and it’s why she started on the road to plastic surgery. Yes she admits she’s a cosmetic surgery addict but along the way has help 1000’s of other women make the correct plastic surgery choices.
She’s a campaigner against domestic violence and freely gives her time to charity work to help sufferers. How many of us can say that. Yes she has also created the MADAME PINK persona and as you will read enjoys what some may say is a colourful sex life. Again I ask why? And she says Why not?
People like to put Sarah into the mad crazy bad mummy box. She is anything but that. She has seen it all, done it all and now has had the guts to put it down on paper. This book is a fantastic read and its revelations will stun some and shock others. I do hope if changes your mind about her but if it doesn’t ask yourself “Why not”. Ultimately this is a book about bravery, strength, betrayel, hope and the ability to find ones self in a world that is sometimes cruel and one sided.
If your a mum, a victim of domestic violence, have been bullied, castigated, or your interest in what lies behind the hype then this book is the book for you.
Sarah could have remained silent forever, but her desire is to help other women and men.
Sit down and re-live her life experiences at times tragic, horrific, joyous, and at times making her feel she was worthless.
Sarah is somebody we should draw inspiration from, and a battle to be heard, if she helps just one person Sarah has done her job.
Alley Einstein, Television and Radio Presenter and Journalist - Written the Foreword

-- Newspaper and Website Reviews

THE HALF A MILLION POUND GIRL
The Guardian

BARBIE BOOK IS RED-HOT
"REAL life Barbie” Sarah Burge admits to a secret hooker past and bedding George Best in a tell-all book due out next month.
The 51-year-old mum has blown £500,000 on plastic surgery and came under fire for allegedly injecting one of her daughters with Botox and giving another a boob job voucher.
Sarah, from St Neots, Cambs, promised her fans: “My autobiography is no plastic surgery story.”
Daily Star

THE HALF A MILLION POUND GIRL
Sunday Sport

THE HALF A MILLION POUND GIRL
The Essex Chronicle

A WOMAN who recently boasted that she had given her seven-year-old daughter a plastic surgery voucher for her birthday signed copies of her book in Bedford on Saturday.
Sarah Burge, 50, was signing copies of her autobiography, The Half a Million Pound Girl, at Waterstones, in Silver Street.
The book documents Sarah’s plastic surgery transformation as well as making claims about domestic violence.
A portion of the profits from the sale of the book will go to charity.
Bedford Today

THE HALF A MILLION POUND GIRL
Burnley Express

'REAL LIFE BARBIE' LAUNCHES BOOK TO SHOCK AND EDUCATE
A mother who underwent £500,000 worth of plastic surgery launched her autobiography at the weekend – and hired a bodyguard for the occasion.
Sarah Burge – better known as the “Real Life Barbie” – signed copies of The Half a Million Pound Girl at Waterstones, St Neots, on Saturday.
The book tells the story of the 51-year-old’s stints as a prostitute and lap dancer and gives accounts of how she was raped and beaten.
But Mrs Burge, who last year came under media fire for allegedly injecting her 15-year-old daughter with botox, told the News she had hired a bodyguard for the signing because “she could not take any chances”.
The mother-of-three said: “I am one of those people that you either love or hate and as this was my first book signing, I really didn’t want to take any chances.
“In my life I have felt threatened a lot of the time and you can’t trust anybody who is out there. You don’t know what people are like and there are some funny characters about.
“The measures were a precaution as I have been in the national spotlight a lot recently.
“The weather was absolutely horrendous on Saturday – it well and truly rained on my parade. But the turnout was good and I received some fantastic feedback.
“One woman who queued for around two hours told me I’m an inspiration. It was fantastic.”
Mrs Burge, who lives with her husband Tony and three daughters, revealed that the bodyguard was a former boxer and was hired through a friend.
The book, which took three months to write, was written by Mrs Burge and former journalist Derek Clements. Some profits are intended to go to charity.
Mrs Burge said: “It was great to start off the tour in St Neots as this is my home town and it meant a lot.
“This is by no means just a plastic surgery book. It’s for everyone, it’s a story that will shock but it’s educational as well. People so far have said they can’t put the book down and some reviewers have said: ‘Barbie’s book is red hot’.”
Chris Cowlin, managing director of Apex Publishing, the book’s publisher, said: “Sarah won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but does have an entertaining story. We hope her book signings are a great success.”
Cambridge News

THE HALF A MILLION POUND GIRL
The Times

THE HALF A MILLION POUND GIRL
Ipswich 24 Magazine

WALKING PLASTIC SURGERY ADVERT TELLS ALL
A human Barbie doll who made headlines this month when she gave her daughter a boob job for her seventh birthday, has released her autobiography.
Sarah Burge, from Croydon, is used to courting controversy after living a turbulent life.
The 50-year-old, who considers herself a walking advert for plastic surgery, gave her daughter Poppy a £6,000 voucher for the plastic surgery procedure to use when she is 16.
She said: “My autobiography is no plastic surgery story, but about lost innocence and how I survived a turbulent, exciting, dangerous, funny and filthy life, and how I lost everything and at times my sanity. I was addicted to dangerous men, the power of money and sex, which can almost kill you.”
The real life Barbie, who has had £500,000 of plastic surgery, grew up in Croydon in the 1960s and was an aspiring actress until she fell prey to the charms of a man who groomed her as a prostitute when she was just a teenager.
At 17, she became a Playboy Bunny, enjoying an extravagant lifestyle until it emerged she was underage. She then worked as a lap dancer and in a funeral parlour making up bodies while she was a key witness at a trial for her property developer boss.
She was badly beaten by her married Arabian boyfriend, had MS wrongly diagnosed and had an affair with a vicar.
In the book she describes meeting first husband John, how he allegedly abducted their daughter after the relationship broke down and why the wedding photographs from her second marriage prompted her to have her first cosmetic operation on her chin.
She has hit the headlines for teaching seven-year-old Poppy to pole dance and giving her 15-year-old daughter Hannah botox injections.
She then took beauty qualifications and underwent a number of operations to enhance her looks. Details of her extensive surgery emerged during a benefits fraud case.
The mother-of-three now works as a Harley Street consultant. She campaigns against domestic violence and has pledged to donate some of the profits from her book to charity.
Croydon Guardian

MUM WHO HAD £500,000 WORTH OF PLASTIC SURGERY TELLS ALL IN NEW BOOK
A mother who has had £500,000 worth of plastic surgery has written an explosive autobiography.
Cambridgeshire-based Sarah Burge – better known as "Real Life Barbie" – is to release the book next month.
The 51-year-old mother of three, who lives near St Neots, has come under fire for allegedly injecting one of her daughters with botox, giving another a voucher for a breast enhancement as well as teaching her to pole dance.
In The Half a Million Pound Girl, Mrs Burge tells of her spell as a prostitute and a lap dancer.
She describes how her wedding photographs from her second marriage prompted her to have her first cosmetic operation on her chin.
Mrs Burge gives a harrowing account of being raped and beaten in the book, and tells how agreeing to go on the The Jeremy Kyle Show was "one of the biggest mistakes of my life".
Appearing on show in 2010 to talk about cosmetic surgery she said Kyle "attacked" her verbally.
Although her publishing company describes Mrs Burge as a "darling of the press", she has come under fire for some of her actions.
In 2005 she was prosecuted for benefit fraud. In her book she claims it was all an "innocent mistake" and says the courts were trying to make an example of her because of her extensive cosmetic surgery – and blames the council for giving her the wrong forms.
Mrs Burge was also criticised for apparently injecting her 15-year-old daughter Hannah with Botox.
But in the book, Mrs Burge explains how a photographer instructed her to pose giving Hannah an injection despite the fact she doesn’t administer them herself.
She wrote: "I feel very strongly that if teenage girls are going to have Botox then they should be allowed to have it injected by reputable practioners, and so I thought this article would be a good thing."
She wrote in the book that Hannah was "mortified" when the story broke – adding that she was reported as an "unfit mother", resulting in a visit by a social worker.
Mrs Burge said: "My autobiography is no plastic surgery story but about lost innocence and how I survived a turbulent, exciting, dangerous, funny and filthy life, and how I lost everything and at times my sanity."
Mrs Burge, who lives with her husband Tony and three daughters, intends to donate some of the profits from her autobiography to charity.
The book, which will be released on July 15, was written by Ms Burge with former journalist Derek Clements.
Cambridge News

THE HALF A MILLION POUND GIRL
The Brit (Madeira Newspaper)

Sarah Burge is one tough cookie, and, apart from the fact that she's blonde, has nothing in at all in keeping with Barbie. Tough, gritty and at times intensely funny, this book is a must-read for anyone who wants to know more about the mystrious world of cosmetic surgrery.
Mike Hallowell, The Shields Gazette

This is a must read book for it sets the record straight and shows Sarah to be like any other woman who's had the strength to fight back.
Mark Moody, OK! Magazine (Social Editor)

-- Radio and TV

9 February 2011 - Author Sarah Burge appeared on the new Channel 4 programme 'Beauty & The Beast'.
Beauty & The Beast (Channel 4)

Apex Media Player

29 March 2011 - Sarah Burge was interviewed on 'The One Show' on BBC One, they also featured her book 'The Half a Million Pound Girl', which is released in July 2011.
The One Show (BBC One)

7 April 2011 - Sarah Burge was interviewed on 'Botox Britain: Your Face in Their Hands' on BBC Three, they also featured her book 'The Half a Million Pound Girl', which is released in July 2011.
Botox Britain: Your Face in Their Hands (BBC Three)

Apex Media Player

9 June 2011 - Sarah Burge was interviewed on Talk Radio Europe. Sarah answered questions about her book 'The Half a Million Pound Girl'.
Talk Radio Europe

13 June 2011 - Sarah Burge was interviewed on Newstalk 106-108 FM. Sarah answered questions about her book 'The Half a Million Pound Girl'.
Newstalk 106-108 FM

27 June 2011 - Sarah Burge was interviewed on BBC Radio Cornwall 95.2 FM. Sarah answered questions about her book 'The Half a Million Pound Girl'.
BBC Radio Cornwall 95.2 FM

28 June 2011 - Sarah Burge was interviewed on BBC Radio Jersey 88.8 FM. Sarah answered questions about her book 'The Half a Million Pound Girl'.
BBC Radio Jersey 88.8 FM

1 July 2011 - Sarah Burge was interviewed on Hayes 91.8 FM. Sarah answered questions about her book 'The Half a Million Pound Girl'.
Hayes 91.8 FM

2 July 2011 - Sarah Burge was interviewed on BBC Radio York 103.7 FM. Sarah answered questions about her book 'The Half a Million Pound Girl'.
BBC Radio York 103.7 FM

Apex Media Player

3 July 2011 - Sarah Burge was interviewed on BBC Radio West Midlands 95.6 FM. Sarah answered questions about her book 'The Half a Million Pound Girl'. (The interview was also broadcast on BBC Radio Stoke, BBC Radio Shropshire, BBC Radio Hereford and Worcestershire and BBC Radio Coventry and Warwickshire).
BBC Radio West Midlands 95.6 FM

15 July 2011 - Sarah Burge was interviewed on Huntingdon Community Radio 104 FM. Sarah answered questions about her book 'The Half a Million Pound Girl'.
Huntingdon Community Radio 104 FM

14 August 2011 - Sarah Burge was interviewed on Your Thurrock. Sarah answered questions about her book 'The Half a Million Pound Girl'.
Your Thurrock

Apex Media Player

19 September 2011 - Sarah Burge was interviewed on Web Talk Radio. Sarah answered questions about her book 'The Half a Million Pound Girl'.
Web Talk Radio

Apex Media Player

21 September 2011 - Sarah Burge was interviewed on The Doctors (Television Show, USA). Sarah answered questions about her book 'The Half a Million Pound Girl'.
The Doctors (Television Show, USA)

8 January 2012 - Sarah Burge was interviewed on That Sunday Night Show, ITV. Sarah answered questions about her book 'The Half a Million Pound Girl'.
That Sunday Night Show, ITV

Apex Media Player

-- Readers Comments

A book I couldn't put down! A sad, funny, interesting book - very honest and true.
Margaret Bond
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-- Book Signings and Events

16 July 2011 - Sarah Burge signed copies of her book 'The Half a Million Pound Girl' at Waterstone's, St. Neots.
Waterstone's, St. Neots

16 July 2011 - Sarah Burge signed copies of her book 'The Half a Million Pound Girl' at Waterstone's, Bedford.
Waterstone's, Bedford

23 July 2011 - Sarah Burge signed copies of her book 'The Half a Million Pound Girl' at Waterstone's, High Street, Chelmsford.
Waterstone's, High Street, Chelmsford

30 July 2011 - Sarah Burge signed copies of her book 'The Half a Million Pound Girl' at Waterstone's, The Riverside, Hemel Hempstead.
Waterstone's, The Riverside, Hemel Hempstead

13 August 2011 - Sarah Burge signed copies of her book 'The Half a Million Pound Girl' at Waterstone's, Lakeside Shopping Centre, Thurrock.
Waterstone's, Lakeside Shopping Centre, Thurrock

-- Libraries that stock this book
The British Library, Boston Spa
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