Books
by Michael Holroyd
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A Strange Eventful History - The Dramatic Lives of Ellen Terry, Henry Irving and Their Remarkable Families |
Holroyd brilliantly illuminates the complex story of these two interlocking families, giants of Victorian theatre: the Irvings and the Terrys. Stars of their era, the Lyceum Theatre was their arena and Irving's fiefdom. Their productions with their over elaborate sets would seem old-fashioned now, but they packed the punters in. Fame comes at a price and both they and their gifted offspring paid their dues. To all theatre lovers, I highly recommend this book.
(David Graham - bwl 48 November 2008) |
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Basil Street Blues |
Holroyd's search to discover his family history is an entrancing story, beautifully written and often very funny, though the author himself remains elusive. An only child, largely brought up by his paternal grandparents and a tennis-playing aunt - his parents divorced early on - he thrived on being invisible. But as he engagingly charts the mixed fortunes of his family he gradually begins to emerge from the shadows.
(Diana Davies - bwl 32 November 2005) |
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Bernard Shaw |
Following his masterly biography of Lytton Strachey, Holroyd has given us a definitive work on the great GBS which I cannot see bettered. Dramatist polymath he strode the world of letters like a whirlwind and became one of the world's most famous men. His dream of the socialist society under which his lifestyle would have been curtailed proved a chimera.
(David Graham - bwl 80 Spring 2016) |
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