The pantomime life of Joseph Grimaldi : laughter, madness and the story of Britain's greatest comedian

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. In later life, the extreme physicality of his performances left him disabled and in constant pain. 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. Drawing on a wealth of source material, Stott has written the definitive biography of Grimaldi and a highly nuanced portrait of Georgian theatre in London, from the frequent riots at Drury Lane to the spectacular excess of its arch-rival Sadler's Wells; from stage elephants running amok to recreations of Admiral Nelson's sea battles on flooded stages at the height of the Napoleonic Wars. Joseph Grimaldi left an indelible mark on British 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. Four classic adventure novels starring Scottish hero Sir Edward Leithen from the author of The Thirty-Nine Steps, who "invented the modern spy novel" (New Statesman). Sir Edward Leithen, lawyer, politician, sportsman and occasional philosopher, was probably the most autobiographical of John Buchan's heroes. This collection of four novels, written over a span of thirty years, shows Leithen/Buchan in all his moods'from the urban menace of The Power-House in which "the thin line between civilization and barbarism" runs through London's West End; to the Highland exhilaration of John Macnab; the twists and turns of The Dancing Floor; and Sick Heart River, where Leithen meets death and redemption in the wastes of Canada. Buchan's learning and practical experience took him far beyond the range of the "clubland hero" and these tales lead us to the heart of one of Scotland's most fascinating and enigmatic writers."John Buchan was the first to realize the enormous dramatic value of adventure in familiar surroundings happening to unadventurous men."'Graham Greene"Leithen is his most autobiographical [character] ... 't's Leithen who stars in The Power-House (serialized in 1913), the novel that kicked off Buchan's run of 'shockers''as he called his thrillers and adventure stories. And it is Leithen who brings it to a close in Sick Heart River (1941). If Hannay is the man of empire, all blunt action and luck brought on by confidence, Leithen is the man of the capital, a power broker bent on doing good but also on escaping to the country at week's end."'The Wall Street Journal I make you laugh at night but am Grim-All-Day'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. In later life, the extreme physicality of his performances left him disabled and in constant pain. 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. Drawing on a wealth of source material, Stott has written the definitive biography of Grimaldi and a highly nuanced portrait of Georgian theatre in London, from the frequent riots at Drury Lane to the spectacular excess of its arch rival Sadler's Wells; from stage elephants running amok to recreations of Admiral Nelson's sea battles on flooded stages at the height of the Napoleonic Wars. 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. This biography offers a “vivid portrayal” of the eighteenth-century English entertainer who “invented the figure of the classic clown that we know today” ( The Guardian ). The son of a deranged Italian immigrant, Joseph Grimaldi (1778–1837) was the most celebrated of English clowns. The first to use white-face makeup and wear outrageous colored clothes, he completely transformed the role of the Clown in the pantomime with a look as iconic as Chaplin’s Tramp. One of the first celebrity comedians, his friends included Lord Byron and the actor Edmund Kean—and his memoirs were edited by a 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. In this “exuberant, impassioned portrait,” biographer Andrew McConnell Stott presents a man who left an indelible mark on the English theatre and the performing arts, but whose legacy is one of human struggle, battling demons and giving it his all in the face of adversity ( The Guardian ). The son of Italian immigrants, Joseph Grimaldi was the most celebrated of English clowns. He created the 'Joey' look associated with clowns ever since, and completely transformed the role of the clown in the harlequinade