Product Description

Born into a theatrical family, Chaplin's father died of drink while his mother, unable to bear the poverty, suffered from bouts of insanity, Chaplin embarked on a film-making career which won him immeasurable success, as well as intense controversy. His extraordinary autobiography was first published in 1964 and was written almost entirely without reference to documentation - simply as an astonishing feat of memory by a 75 year old man. It is an incomparably vivid reconstruction of a poor London childhood, the music hall and then his prodigious life in the movies.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13899 in Books
• Published on: 2003-04-24
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

About the Author
CHARLES CHAPLIN [1889-1977] was one of the greatest of all filmmakers and comedians. DAVID ROBINSON is the author of CHAPLIN: HIS LIFE AND ART (also published by Penguin)

Customer Reviews

Brings a lost world into focus...
I've never been a fan of Chaplin but I watched the broadcast of 'Chaplin' the movie recently and I was sufficiently impressed to buy this autobiography upon which it was allegedly based. I thought the film to be quite good until I read the book and realised that much of the screenplay is invented or warped. Chaplins own version of events is informative, well written and engaging. He spends some time explaining his impoverished early years in Victorian London and its facinating stuff: really brings the era to colourful life. His mother, portrayed very negatively in the the film, was actually a warm and imaginative character who I would love to meet (way too late of course).
Chaplin describes the early days of movie making with great eloquence (he did NOT make his Keystone debut by walking into a shoot by mistake - that's pure invention for the movie) and again it is fascinating. If the past is a foreign country we can never visit then this is the definitive travelogue for early 20th Century Hollywood. Great stuff and recommended. I even might buy a Chaplin DVD!

The story of a Genius..........
In early Hollywood cinema there were only a few leading lights and Charlie Chaplin was one of them.Famous for his clowning and mime,he has been copied and imitated right into the twenty first century.This book take us by the land and leads us from the poverty of Victorian England to the glam and glitz of Hollywood.
Charlie was born in South London in the latter part of the 19th century and both of his parents were music hall entertainers.He lived mainly with his mother and first stepped onto the stage as a young boy after his mother lost her voice and could no longer sing.After spells in Victorian workhouses and pauper schools,Charlie and his brother Sydney fell into life on the road as part of several troups of touring productions,one of which took them to America....
To review this book in total would take pages and pages.He writes beautifully and if selective memory kicks in on occasion, well,that's his perogative.His life story is a fascinating insight into so many things,Victorian London~Victorian Music Hall~Early Cinema and much more.He recounts conversations and meetings with many historical figures including Winston Churchill and Ghandi.
I would highly recommend this book for many reasons but to sum up ~ buy this book 'cause it's a thumping good read!!.

Wonderful
Charlie Chaplin's life story makes a real page-turner of a book. The misery of his first twelve years had me almost in tears; he lived with his mentally ill mother in an endless series of tiny rooms in the worst slums of Victorian London. Charlie lived on pennies a week and was eventually sent to a workhouse for over a year where the beatings were right out of Dickens. What a contrast to his adult life! While traveling in a vaudeville show in the U.S. he was invited to Hollywood where he created the character of the tramp and rose to international fame and fortune.

Chaplin writes in a very readable style, recounting the horrors and high points of his life with fascinating detail (except for his many love affairs and marriages which are barely mentioned). He socialized with royalty and traveled the world, yet he never forgot his humble beginnings. Highly recommended, especially for film fans.