The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi : Laughter, Madness and the Story of Britain's Greatest Comedian (Paperback)

from SmithSJ01

I have to confess to not reading all of it, in fact I skimmed a fair bit. The reason for this is nothing to do with the quality of the writing which was exceptional; I simply found myself not as interested in it as I had hoped. A great biography of a Georgian entertaine. The illustrations/picture...

from eleanor_eader

One of the most colourful slices of London's theatrical history must surely be this period between the late 1700s to early 1800s when pantomime, a staple fare presented by theatre managers rather than a seasonal ritual, included dangerous and body-destroying nightly leaps and stunts, traps and pi...

from wendyrey

A biography of one of the most famous of the United Kingdom's comedians and clowns. Well researched with pages of references and enriched with theatrical anedotes. It tells of Grimaldi's tough childhood and even tougher working life, when actors and performers were still near the bottom of the so...

from Fluffyblue

After struggling to want to read any further than the first few chapters of this book, I persevered, and found myself becoming interested in the lives of the performers of the early 19th century. Having said that, I don't feel that I learned an awful lot about Mr Grimaldi's life. I don't think th...

from aadyer

A comprehensive & well sourced biography of potentially the greatest clown ever. Not necessarily as sparse on the personal life of the subject as one might think, it does tell a story more of the theatre & the people within in it, in England, particularly London, at that time. A good overview of ...