Overview

Former prime minister John Major takes a remarkable journey into his own unconventional family past to tell the richly colourful story of the British music hallMusic hall was one of the glories of Victorian England. Sentimental, vulgar, class-conscious, but always patriotic and on the side of the underdog, it held a mirror to the audiences' hopes and fears, and sometimes the general absurdity of life.Vast, smoke-filled auditoriums were packed night after night in nearly every town and city in Britain. The most popular performers, such as Marie Lloyd, Vesta Tilley and George Robey, were among the highest paid and most celebrated figures in the land.This was the world that John Major's father Tom entered at the age of 21 as a comedian and singer. In My Old Man, the former prime minister uses his father's story as a springboard for telling the entertaining history of the music hall, from its origins in Elizabethan times through to its heyday in the nineteenth century and eventual decline with the rise of radio and cinema in the twentieth century.Packed with colourful anecdotes about the great performers of the day, this warm-hearted history conjures up a lost age.

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9780007467679

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Reviews

Reviews for The Autobiography: 'The best memoir by a senior politician for years' Simon Jenkins, Sunday Times 'Beautifully written, utterly convincing and consistently interesting, the best political memoir for decades' Philip Hensher, Spectator 'The best prime ministerial memoir -- discounting Churchill -- since the genre began' John Campbell, Independent Reviews for More Than a Game: 'Full of insight, wisdom and dry humour and, most important of all, unquenchable enthusiasm' Sunday Times 'I cannot imagine a better guide -- authoritative, graceful and always with an eye to bringing out the quirky characters who have made cricket more than a game ' Daily Mail 'Passion flows through every page ! it's likely that as a work of reference More Than a Game will supplant its predecessors' Sunday Telegraph

Author Information

John Major was Conservative Member of Parliament for Huntingdon between 1979 and 2001. In Cabinet, he served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Foreign Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer. He was Prime Minister between 1990 and 1997. He was awarded the Companion of Honour in 1999, and became a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter in 2005. Since leaving office he has taken up business and charitable appointments. He is the author of two bestselling books, The Autobiography and More Than a Game.

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