This was a well written book and, if you are very interested in the subject, you will probably find it very useful. However, from my position of mildly interested there was too much book for me and I did not, in the end, read it thoroughly. ( )

A comprehensive & well sourced biography of potentially the greatest clown ever. Not necessarily as sparse on the personal life of the subject as one might think, it does tell a story more of the theatre & the people within in it, in England, particularly London, at that time. A good overview of the subject would have been helpful in some ways, but this was attempted to be addressed by the author. At times lengthy, & the legal wrangles of all the various theatre houses, whilst necessary for accuracy & completeness I found wearing after a while. I felt that there could have been a. Lot more editing. I would not read it again, nor particularly recommend it, nor use it as a reference tome for the general reader. For specialist interest only, would be my thoughts. ( )

A history of theatre and pantomime as well as biography. Not the pantomime we know today - Grimaldi's pantomime was not the 'oh no, it isn't type with principal boys and pantomime dames. Nor was Grimaldi like the circus clowns or children's entertainers we are familiar with today. He was a celebrity, gracing the stage at Covent Garden and Drury Lane, a shareholder in the theatre of Sadler's Wells and earning enormous fees, mixing with a social circle that included Lord Byron. That was in his heyday. Grimaldi's life was beset by depression and tragedy.

Andrew Stott's book is detailed, well researched and absolutely fascinating. The Appendix - Harlequin and Mother Goose; or The Golden Egg! makes it easier to visualise the performance. I knew of Grimaldi but little more than that before reading this book - an excellent guide to the theatre of the early 19th century.

I have to confess to not reading all of it, in fact I skimmed a fair bit. The reason for this is nothing to do with the quality of the writing which was exceptional; I simply found myself not as interested in it as I had hoped. A great biography of a Georgian entertaine. The illustrations/pictures are a good edition. My only suggestion is that the chapters could've been a little shorter. ( )

Andrew McConnell Stott’s The Pantomine Life of Joseph Grimaldi explores an age when theatre going was a dangerous sport, both for those on the stage and in the audience. Grimaldi’s life unfurls against the background of the Regency, where the opposing politics of Whigs and Tories was played out within the theatres along with fires, fights and strikes by the patrons. With looming war in Europe, Stott draws out the world of theatre wars, rivalries between players and managers, and the challenges Grimaldi and his colleagues faced in playing physically demanding roles night after night. Stott captures the hand-to-mouth existence and lack of security and support, and paints a picture of Grimaldi’s tough upbringing, apprenticed into the theatre as a babe in arms. The argument he draws out is that Grimaldi is the first of a noble tradition of tragic comedians blighted by tragedy and depression. However, this narrative does not take flight as much as the rumbunctous story of the stage and its people. There is a lack of documentation to draw on to verify Grimaldi’s inner life. As with Grimaldi’s tricks, which are described in detail, it is challenging to bring to life a character for whose greatest moments the author acknowledges, as with all great comedy ‘you simply had to be there’. This is an interesting history, and I will make my next visits to the London theatres Stott documents with newly opened eyes, but the broader history comes to life more truly than the clown Stott comes to celebrate.