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 hall Music 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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9780007511198

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Reviews

‘In this rich, generous book, he never moralises but always celebrates … he sends in the clowns quite brilliantly, parading them before us all in all their extraordinariness… Wonderfully warm-hearted … compassionate … fascinating … Major nobly honours his parents and the life they lived in these pages … the affection is palpable’ Guardian ‘Affectionate, charming and unexpectedly lively … Major paints a vivid picture … to read this richly enjoyable book is to be given a glimpse into a lost world’ Mail on Sunday ‘Entertaining and well-paced … My Old Man is a powerful and affecting tribute’ Daily Express ‘His deep affection for his parents inspires his finest writing…fascinating … My Old Man is an entertaining and intriguing potted history, full of quirky details about this quintessentially English phenomenon’ Independent ‘Entertaining, fascinating and written with love….the admiration that John feels for his father is palpable on every page’ Sunday Express

'In this rich, generous book, he never moralises but always celebrates ... he sends in the clowns quite brilliantly, parading them before us all in all their extraordinariness... Wonderfully warm-hearted ... compassionate ... fascinating ... Major nobly honours his parents and the life they lived in these pages ... the affection is palpable' Guardian 'Affectionate, charming and unexpectedly lively ... Major paints a vivid picture ... to read this richly enjoyable book is to be given a glimpse into a lost world' Mail on Sunday 'Entertaining and well-paced ... My Old Man is a powerful and affecting tribute' Daily Express 'His deep affection for his parents inspires his finest writing...fascinating ... My Old Man is an entertaining and intriguing potted history, full of quirky details about this quintessentially English phenomenon' Independent 'Entertaining, fascinating and written with love...the admiration that John feels for his father is palpable on every page' Sunday Express

'An uncommon book about one of the most extraordinary, vital and creative chapters in British theatrical history ... in this rich, generous book, he never moralises but always celebrates ... he sends in the clowns quite brilliantly, parading them before us all in all their extraordinariness ... wonderfully warm-hearted ... compassionate ... fascinating ... Major nobly honours his parents and the life they lived in these pages ... the affection is palpable' Guardian 'Affectionate, charming and unexpectedly lively ... Major paints a vivid picture ... to read this richly enjoyable book is to be given a glimpse into a lost world' Mail on Sunday 'Unpretentious and enjoyably evocative history ... Major writes about its extraordinary characters with real affection' Evening Standard 'Major offers vivid portraits of the stars...he also has excellent chapters about the minor acts ... entertaining and well-paced ... My Old Man is a powerful and affecting tribute' Daily Express 'That John Major is thoroughly at home with this story is shown by the density of well-chosen detail' Financial Times 'It is the intimate contact with the past that gives My Old Man its personal touch and a pathos rare even in social history; Major writes about music hall acts as if he had seen them himself...a delight for anyone interested in the history of entertainment Sunday Telegraph 'Major offers up lively pen portraits of all the leading performers...meticulously researched' Spectator 'A rich and thoroughgoing survey of British music hall' Daily Telegraph 'A loving tribute to these golden oldies' Daily Mail 'His deep affection for his parents inspires his finest writing...fascinating... My Old Man is an entertaining and intriguing potted history, full of quirky details about this quintessentially English phenomenon' Independent

Author Information

John Major was leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister from 1990 to 1997. He is a former President of Surrey County Cricket Club.

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