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Review
`...Sir Michael's delightful narrative' --The Economist
`a magnificently detailed and atmospheric epic'
--Sunday Times
'Holroyd's sweeping biography...proceeds at a furious pace...the effect is of an epic' --The New Yorker
`a magnificently detailed and atmospheric epic'
--Sunday Times
'Holroyd's sweeping biography...proceeds at a furious pace...the effect is of an epic' --The New Yorker
Review
`This is a fabulous cavalcade of a book, written with infectious verve and deep imaginative sympathy ... a joy to read.'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
In this book, Michael Holroyd skilfully interweaves the stories of Ellen Terry, Henry Irving and their various partners, lovers and offspring.
The most interesting part of the book for me was the sections dealing with the Terry/Irving partnership at the Lyceum Theatre. The productions must have been a sight to behold with the extravagant scenery and costumes backed up by an orchestra providing incidental music. The characters of Terry and Irving leap off the page; both were superstars of their day and had huge followings.
Less convincing I found were the sections dealing with Terry's son Edward Gordon Craig. I didn't think Holroyd explains clearly enough why Craig's theatrical designs were so revolutionary. I did find the parts of the book dealing with Craig's life heavy going at times, but this may be because I found him such an unsympathetic person; self-absorbed and controlling are two of the kindest descriptions that come to mind.
However, the main joy of this book is the fact that Holroyd is in complete control of his material. Quotes from sources are slipped in effortlessly to make a point.
What I like about his approach to biography is that he is never judgmental or over analytical. He presents the reader with the facts and allows him to make up his own mind.
It was a pleasure to read such an absorbing well-researched biography.
The most interesting part of the book for me was the sections dealing with the Terry/Irving partnership at the Lyceum Theatre. The productions must have been a sight to behold with the extravagant scenery and costumes backed up by an orchestra providing incidental music. The characters of Terry and Irving leap off the page; both were superstars of their day and had huge followings.
Less convincing I found were the sections dealing with Terry's son Edward Gordon Craig. I didn't think Holroyd explains clearly enough why Craig's theatrical designs were so revolutionary. I did find the parts of the book dealing with Craig's life heavy going at times, but this may be because I found him such an unsympathetic person; self-absorbed and controlling are two of the kindest descriptions that come to mind.
However, the main joy of this book is the fact that Holroyd is in complete control of his material. Quotes from sources are slipped in effortlessly to make a point.
What I like about his approach to biography is that he is never judgmental or over analytical. He presents the reader with the facts and allows him to make up his own mind.
It was a pleasure to read such an absorbing well-researched biography.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
There is much to be enjoyed in this biography of Ellen Terry and her friends and family. Indeed Holroyd has unearthed/compiled some interesting new material which throws light on these complex creatives. However the book outstays its welcome and, by the end, one loses interest in the minor league players. Terry, Irving, and Gordon and Eady Craig are the stars - but many of the others, in this dense treatise, have neither the charisma nor the life stories really to sustain ones interest. Ironically, the book does not seem to engage the reader emotionally, in what is a potentially very moving set of circumstances. Still, Terry and her milieu are as equally fascinating, and probably as important, as the Bloomsbury set - and my word their lives have been richly documented. So this substantial addition, to the small set of volumes readily available, about these fascinating theatre folk, can only be to the good.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
It's taken me four months to read this engrossing study of the Irving and Terry families. Never dull, always witty and erudite. Can't recommend this biographical masterpiece enough. Holroyd's scholarship is amazing. A master at work. Can't match the word count for the other review and sorry about the cliché's but I think I've made my point.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Well researched, and a good read
I have an interest in Victorian theatre, and many of the characters and places were already familiar to me. Read more
Published 1 month ago by D. Reeves
Britain's greatest biographer
If you enjoyed the biographies of Lytton Strachey and Bernard Shaw you will love this one.
Published 21 months ago by Mr. C. Gillespie
Inter-related lives
Yes I agree with all the other reviews especially in relation to Craig-his actual ideas and theories are never clarified which I really wanted to read about. Read more
Published on 8 Nov 2009 by Great happy harmony
Delightful reading fodder for theatre lovers
Let me start off by saying that, having been a Gordon Craig enthusiast for many years, I am altogether delighted by the appearance of a new, substantial and well-researched book on... Read more
Published on 11 Nov 2008 by J. W. Reitsma
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