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Dear Miss Landau
The true story of the Rain Man who came in from the cold.
Every morning James Christie puts on a blue rugby shirt and jeans. His wardrobe is full of identical outfits. Every day he eats the same meal and drinks from the same mug. These are not ingrained habits, but survival strategies. For James, coping with new experiences feels like smashing his head through a plate glass window. The only relief comes from belting the heavy bag at the boxing club or watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He’s an autistic man lost in a neuro-typical world. Differently wired. Alien.
Despite a high IQ, it seems he’ll spend the next 20 years cleaning toilets. But then his life takes an amazing turn – from a Glasgow tenement to a rendezvous with a Hollywood star on Sunset Boulevard.
On that road trip across America, the man who feels he lacks a soul will find it. Eight time zones and 5,000 miles away, he has a date with the actress who played Drusilla, the kooky vampire who changed his life when he saw her in a Buffy episode.
Drusilla has no soul either. And maybe that’s the attraction. But Drusilla is fictional. The lady he’ll see on Sunset is Juliet Landau. She’s real, and that’s a very different proposition…
Every morning James Christie puts on a blue rugby shirt and jeans. His wardrobe is full of identical outfits. Every day he eats the same meal and drinks from the same mug. These are not ingrained habits, but survival strategies. For James, coping with new experiences feels like smashing his head through a plate glass window. The only relief comes from belting the heavy bag at the boxing club or watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He’s an autistic man lost in a neuro-typical world. Differently wired. Alien.
Despite a high IQ, it seems he’ll spend the next 20 years cleaning toilets. But then his life takes an amazing turn – from a Glasgow tenement to a rendezvous with a Hollywood star on Sunset Boulevard.
On that road trip across America, the man who feels he lacks a soul will find it. Eight time zones and 5,000 miles away, he has a date with the actress who played Drusilla, the kooky vampire who changed his life when he saw her in a Buffy episode.
Drusilla has no soul either. And maybe that’s the attraction. But Drusilla is fictional. The lady he’ll see on Sunset is Juliet Landau. She’s real, and that’s a very different proposition…
- GenresNonfictionAudiobook
Audiobook
First published March 14, 2012
4 people are currently reading
122 people want to read
About the author
James Christie
3 books14 followersI was born in 1964, graduated from Crewe & Alsager College of Higher Education with a Third Class degree in creative writing, but also with College Colours “in recognition of outstanding service to the student body and the college community”. After travelling around Australia for a year, I took a postgraduate diploma in library and information studies at Thames Valley University in 1992, catalogued the private library collection of a stately home and worked as a law librarian for some years in Glasgow.
I was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome in 2002 and shortly thereafter began to take a focused interest in Drusilla the vampire, a character in the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I wrote a quartet of fan-fiction stories (Drusilla’s Roses, Drusilla’s Redemption, Drusilla Revenant and Spike & Dru : the Graveyard of Empires) which further developed the character of Drusilla.
In 2010, I took a Buffy-themed Greyhound bus trip across America with the support of the National Autistic Society Scotland, the story of which, together with descriptions of my difficulties living as an autistic adult in a neuro-typical world, was published by Chaplin Books in 2012.
I made a second crossing in 2012, a third in 2013 and intend to make a fourth (and perhaps last) journey in 2016.
In the meantime, Dear Miss Landau has been recorded by me as an audiobook, and is currently being turned into a stage musical by a highly-experienced composer and lyricist. I currently write for the Huffington Post and my second novel, The Legend of John Macnab, (my Great Scottish Novel!) came out in 2015.
I was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome in 2002 and shortly thereafter began to take a focused interest in Drusilla the vampire, a character in the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I wrote a quartet of fan-fiction stories (Drusilla’s Roses, Drusilla’s Redemption, Drusilla Revenant and Spike & Dru : the Graveyard of Empires) which further developed the character of Drusilla.
In 2010, I took a Buffy-themed Greyhound bus trip across America with the support of the National Autistic Society Scotland, the story of which, together with descriptions of my difficulties living as an autistic adult in a neuro-typical world, was published by Chaplin Books in 2012.
I made a second crossing in 2012, a third in 2013 and intend to make a fourth (and perhaps last) journey in 2016.
In the meantime, Dear Miss Landau has been recorded by me as an audiobook, and is currently being turned into a stage musical by a highly-experienced composer and lyricist. I currently write for the Huffington Post and my second novel, The Legend of John Macnab, (my Great Scottish Novel!) came out in 2015.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 10, 2013
My younger brother bought us all this book as he heard it being reviewed on radio 4. The reason he bought it is because our sister was also diagnosed with Aspergers at 38 as James was. I read it to try and understand my sister a bit more. Although she isn't completely like James there are a lot of similarities and James is extremely articulate in verbalising autist traits, my sister really struggles to vocalise what difficulties she has sometimes and this book has really helped me in understanding her.
If you know anyone that has autism anywhere on the spectrum they will truly realise what an awesome undertaking it was for James to travel across America alone. It is is extremely impressive that he was able to do this and explain how different things made him feel. I've been told by the psychiatrist that diagnosed my sister that it is a cliched stereotype that a lot of autistic people are highly intelligent, but I've yet to meet one that doesn't conform to that stereotype. That's also borne out by James as his writing style is funny, intelligent and self deprecating.
I loved this book because it has helped me understand my sister a little bit more and I enjoyed it immensely.
If you know anyone that has autism anywhere on the spectrum they will truly realise what an awesome undertaking it was for James to travel across America alone. It is is extremely impressive that he was able to do this and explain how different things made him feel. I've been told by the psychiatrist that diagnosed my sister that it is a cliched stereotype that a lot of autistic people are highly intelligent, but I've yet to meet one that doesn't conform to that stereotype. That's also borne out by James as his writing style is funny, intelligent and self deprecating.
I loved this book because it has helped me understand my sister a little bit more and I enjoyed it immensely.
October 3, 2012
I read this constantly thinking "is this for real?" An autistic Scottish man in his 40s has an obsession with a character from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and writes a 250,000 word novel based on the character and ends up travelling to Hollywood and meeting the actress who plays her. You couldn't make it up.
April 19, 2018
Things I like about this book:
The way Christie writes about being an "autist". He is open - brutally at times, beautifully at others -about his experiences, the ways in which his autism and his way of thinking can be a strength (I hadn't heard of the Peter Pan gene before!), but also the real ways it makes it harder for him to build a career or relationships. My brother is autistic - it's a longer conversation , and a personal one that I don't want to get into on an online form, sorry guys - but I get frustrated with some writing in this area. Sometimes I feel my frustration comes from the way so much writing about autism is geared towards neurotypical people in a way that "others" people with autism. Perhaps it's Christie's love of writing or his experience as a spokesperson via the National Autistic Society, but although he often likens himself to a Vulcan, he never comes across as an "other". He is a tenacious and passionate man whose Asbergers is part of who he is, but not the entirety of who he is.
The honest and sweet way he writes about his fandom. I think every fan has had the thoughts and feelings described in this book from time to time (Oh Spike - how would I have gotten my degree without you?) but are wary of seeming like a stalker - Christie repeatedly emphasises that he's not a stalker and truly, he isn't. He's a fan who entered into a correspondence with the subject of his fandom because she was touched by him. I like how we get comparatively little detail of his finally meeting Juliet Landau -just flashes of the most significant moments - it keeps it special and personal and shows a respect for her identity and privacy.
That said, I found the strongest writing in the book actually wasn't related to either of these areas - it was his travel writing, the articles he sent back home about the things he'd seen and the thoughts he'd had while travelling across America by bus and his insights on navigating a foreign country. I'd happily read a travel book by him.
The way Christie writes about being an "autist". He is open - brutally at times, beautifully at others -about his experiences, the ways in which his autism and his way of thinking can be a strength (I hadn't heard of the Peter Pan gene before!), but also the real ways it makes it harder for him to build a career or relationships. My brother is autistic - it's a longer conversation , and a personal one that I don't want to get into on an online form, sorry guys - but I get frustrated with some writing in this area. Sometimes I feel my frustration comes from the way so much writing about autism is geared towards neurotypical people in a way that "others" people with autism. Perhaps it's Christie's love of writing or his experience as a spokesperson via the National Autistic Society, but although he often likens himself to a Vulcan, he never comes across as an "other". He is a tenacious and passionate man whose Asbergers is part of who he is, but not the entirety of who he is.
The honest and sweet way he writes about his fandom. I think every fan has had the thoughts and feelings described in this book from time to time (Oh Spike - how would I have gotten my degree without you?) but are wary of seeming like a stalker - Christie repeatedly emphasises that he's not a stalker and truly, he isn't. He's a fan who entered into a correspondence with the subject of his fandom because she was touched by him. I like how we get comparatively little detail of his finally meeting Juliet Landau -just flashes of the most significant moments - it keeps it special and personal and shows a respect for her identity and privacy.
That said, I found the strongest writing in the book actually wasn't related to either of these areas - it was his travel writing, the articles he sent back home about the things he'd seen and the thoughts he'd had while travelling across America by bus and his insights on navigating a foreign country. I'd happily read a travel book by him.
April 15, 2021
An autobiographical work by my friend James Christie. When reviewed on A Good Read (BBC Radio 4) the reviewer called it the best book he'd read in 10 years. Praise indeed!
James is autistic, at the Asperger, high functioning end of the spectrum. During the 90s he developed an obsession with the TV drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and in particular with the character Drusilla, played by Juliet Landau. DML is the story of his friendship with Miss Landau which started after he wrote some "fan fiction" based on unfinished plot lines and such like from Buffy. Juliet liked what he'd written and they started an email correspondence which culminated in James taking a journey across America to meet Juliet in person in Hollywood.
DLM is a wonderful and heart-warming true story brilliantly told. It deserves a wider audience, and for the record, it's one of the best books I've read in the last few years. And I'm not saying that because he's a friend of mine. Oh no. Well, maybe I am, but it's still a heck of a good read. Check out the BBC 4 archives if you don't believe me.
James is autistic, at the Asperger, high functioning end of the spectrum. During the 90s he developed an obsession with the TV drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and in particular with the character Drusilla, played by Juliet Landau. DML is the story of his friendship with Miss Landau which started after he wrote some "fan fiction" based on unfinished plot lines and such like from Buffy. Juliet liked what he'd written and they started an email correspondence which culminated in James taking a journey across America to meet Juliet in person in Hollywood.
DLM is a wonderful and heart-warming true story brilliantly told. It deserves a wider audience, and for the record, it's one of the best books I've read in the last few years. And I'm not saying that because he's a friend of mine. Oh no. Well, maybe I am, but it's still a heck of a good read. Check out the BBC 4 archives if you don't believe me.
March 15, 2015
A very interesting book, well read by its author. Granting an insight into Asperger's syndrome and life with it.
James Christie has a turn of phrase which is elegant and interesting, brings his tale to the ear pleasantly, providing me what was a unique insight into the condition. I may have to read his fiction now; I like his writing style so much.
James Christie has a turn of phrase which is elegant and interesting, brings his tale to the ear pleasantly, providing me what was a unique insight into the condition. I may have to read his fiction now; I like his writing style so much.
February 23, 2017
Intriguing quasi diary written by a Scottish man with autism/Asperger syndrome who is fixated on a character from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." The book shows a great deal about the functioning of the mind with syndrome as well as the minor character of Drusilla played by Juliet Landau.
November 21, 2019
Having been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome myself at the tender age of 51 earlier this year and having said a brief "Hello" to James in Biggar High Street while leaving the hairdresser with my mother, Jen, (they knew each other from the Biggar Writers Group), she was kind enough to lend me her signed copy of Dear Miss Landau... recently.
I must say that it's one of those books that swept me away and I struggled to put it down. James' way with words is lyrical and enthralling. I really felt like I was on this gentil knight's quest with him and I admire his courage greatly for taking on said quest, especially, as a fellow Autist, I know only too well just how frightening going anywhere new can be, let alone the epic journey James took.
I look forward to reading James' other books.
I must say that it's one of those books that swept me away and I struggled to put it down. James' way with words is lyrical and enthralling. I really felt like I was on this gentil knight's quest with him and I admire his courage greatly for taking on said quest, especially, as a fellow Autist, I know only too well just how frightening going anywhere new can be, let alone the epic journey James took.
I look forward to reading James' other books.
August 19, 2012
Christie defies the preconceptions of autism sufferers by writing in an eloquent and engaging way about his life and, primarily, the journey that to him from Scotland to (and across) America. His story is an interesting one and, as a result of his excellent narration, the book is a very enjoyable read.
August 23, 2012
Did not enjoy this book at all. It might have helped if I had known anything about Buffy and co. There was no ending to the book but I couldn't get to the end of it fast enough.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews