The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi Laughter, Madness and the Story of Britain's Greatest Comedian
- 2 Sep 2010
- 9781847677617
- £12.99
- 464 pp
- 129×198mm
In a few words
A fascinating history of theatre told through the story of Britain’s first ever pantomime clown
A wonderful book: beautiful, heartbreaking and absolutely fascinating
Amanda Foreman
author of The DuchessA round of applause is due to this exuberant, impassioned portrait, for bringing the great Grimaldi, 'Joey the Clown', into the limelight again
Jenny Uglow
ObserverMore about
the book
The son of a deranged Italian immigrant, Joseph Grimaldi (1778-1837) was the most celebrated of English clowns. The first to use white-face make-up and wear outrageous coloured clothes, he completely transformed the role of the Clown in the pantomime with a look as iconic as Chaplin’s tramp or Tommy Cooper’s magician. One of the first celebrity comedians, his friends included Lord Byron and the actor Edmund Kean, and his memoirs were edited by the young Charles Dickens.
But underneath the stage paint, Grimaldi struggled with depression and his life was blighted with tragedy. His first wife died in childbirth and his son would go on to drink himself to death. The outward joy and tomfoolery of his performances masked a dark and depressing personal life, and instituted the modern figure of the glum, brooding comedian.
Joseph Grimaldi left an indelible mark on the English theatre and the performing arts, but his legacy is one of human struggle, battling demons and giving it his all in the face of adversity.
Grimaldi's is a story of comedy mixed with pathos, endurance with absurdity. It is exceptionally well told here
Sam Leith
Daily MailThis interesting and entertaining book gives a real insight into how much professional comedy has changed over the last 250 years, and how much it hasn't changed
Frank Skinner
Always vivacious and engaged, Stott's writing is earthed in research that gives resonance to the amplitude of detail he provides, tactfully tucking away documentation of sources in endnotes that are a pleasure in themselves
Jennie Renton
Sunday HeraldA round of applause is due this exuberant portrait for bringing Grimaldi into the limelight again
Andrew McConnell Stott
View profileAndrew McConnell Stott is Professor of English at the University at Buffalo, SUNY. The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi, a history of theatre and comedy told through the story of Britain’s greatest pantomime clown, was published by Canongate in 2009 and won the Royal Society of Literature Jerwood Award for Non-Fiction, the Sheridan Morley Award for Theatre Biography, and the George Freedley Memorial Award. It was a BBC Radio 4 ‘Book of the Week’ and was named by the Guardian as one of its ‘Books of the Year.’
www.andrewmcconnellstott.com
Follow @amstott1789 on Twitter
