Overview

When Samuel Foote was buried clandestinely in the cloisters of Westminster Cathedral, he may or may not have been reunited with his missing leg. (In eighteenth-century London it was customary for amputees to be buried with their sawn-off limbs, which were kept embalmed for this purpose.) How Samuel Foote lost his leg is one of the many extraordinary and gruesome elements in the story of a unique character in the most colourful period of British history. Samuel Foote, although forgotten now, was a major figure of Georgian London. Friend of Johnson, Garrick, Fielding, Goldsmith, Sheridan, Boswell and Franklin, Foote was the most famous and the funniest man in England. He first made his name by writing a bestselling pamphlet about the family scandal that culminated in his uncle's murder (by another uncle). This story captivated coffee-house London and helped him escape the debtors' prison in which his decadence and debauchery at university had landed him. Foote's subsequent life was full of infamy, controversy, and violence, ending chaotically in two notorious trials encompassing bigamy, buggery, and defamation. But most importantly Foote is now reclaimed as a great actor, dramatist, impresario, the first celebrity impressionist, and, Kelly argues, the singular founding father of the British sense of humour.

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9780330517843

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Reviews

'I thought this was an exceptionally entertaining book about an extraordinary man. Foote was clearly an extraordinary character even by the standards of Georgian London and one cannot help but feel that if he had not actually existed it would have been necessary to invent him. Kelly gives us a vivid and graphic portrayal of this one-legged satirical genius and the dangerous and compelling world that he inhabited, from the court to debtors' gaol. Highly recommended.' Catharine Arnold, author of Bedlam: London and its Mad 'Kelly's perceptive wit, and interest in his densely theatrical material, makes him an ideal biographer for this pint-size peacock ... Foote's imprint deserved uncovering.' Sunday Telegraph 'Dazzling ... Kelly is a master at recreating atmosphere and making the reader feel he is living alongside the book's subject' Daily Express '[In this] uproarious account of Foote's career ... Kelly handles theatrical rumour and apocrypha with great care' Guardian 'Ian Kelly, an actor and writer, has found a perfect subject in this larger-than-life theatrical phenomenon ... [he] is a charming and knowledgeable guide' Literary Review 'Ian Kelly's splendid biography ... [is a] thrilling piece of literary archeology' Scotsman

Author Information

Ian Kelly has written prize-winning biographies of Casanova, Beau Brummell and Antonin Careme, he combines this with acting, from playing the art-historian in Lee Hall's The Pitman Painters to Hermione's father in the final instalments of the Harry Potter films.

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