The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi: Laughter, Madness and the Story of Britain´s Greatest Comedian
Andrew McConnell Stott
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.
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About Andrew McConnell Stott
Reviews for The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi: Laughter, Madness and the Story of Britain´s Greatest Comedian
Amanda Foreman
author of The Duchess
A round of applause is due to this exuberant, impassioned portrait, for bringing the great Grimaldi, 'Joey the Clown', into the limelight again
Jenny Uglow
Observer
Grimaldi's is a story of comedy mixed with pathos, endurance with absurdity. It is exceptionally well told here
Sam Leith
Daily Mail
This 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 Herald
A round of applause is due this exuberant portrait for bringing Grimaldi into the limelight again
Observer New Review
Splendid
Sunday Telegraph
Superb
The Telegraph Review
A dazzling yarn
The Independent
McConnell Stott's engaging book...presents a fantastic panorama of stage history, tracing how pantomime rose to be the most popular British art form at a time when the rest of Europe was convulsed by the Napoleonic wars
The Sunday Times