In a career spanning over a decade, PJ Harvey has continually defied expectation and classification with her seven blues-drenched studio albums, attracting a fanbase including Madonna and Courtney Love and achieving worldwide recognition in the process. She became the first ever female artist to win the prestigious Mercury Music Prize in 2001 and her Tate Modern gig in 2003 was the hottest London ticket of the year. But despite this success, she remains a reclusive figure, maintaining a level of privacy that is virtually unheard-of in modern rock music. In this, the first ever biography, her artistic development is fully traced, from her childhood in the sleepy Dorset village of Corscombe, through her signing to independent label Too Pure back in 1991, right up to her headlining tour of Australia in 2003. The stories behind the albums, videos and tours are all here, alongside details of her collaborations with Nick Cave, Radiohead, Tricky and Queens of the Stone Age, with new and archive interview material with Harvey herself and her associates. The trials and tribulations are all detailed providing a deliciously detailed account of the life and career of one of rock's unlikeliest stateswomen. Includes a detailed discography and bootlegography, making this an essential read for fans and casual listeners alike.