Product Description

Focusing on entertainers, this book gathers together some of the, often amusing, obituaries that have appeared in "The Daily Telegraph". Taking "entertainer" in its broadest sense, it covers the spectrum, from the famous - Liberace, Divine - to the weird, such as circus performers.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #276162 in Books
• Published on: 1998-09-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Review
From the outrageous camp of Liberace to 'the Valentino of the circus ring', lion-tamer Togare, Massingberd indulges his passion for the larger-than-life in this third selection of obituaries from the Daily Telegraph. This time the focus is on entertainers. (Kirkus UK)

From the Publisher
From the review in Country Life by A.N. Wilson
'Hugh Massingberd single-handedly transformed the slightly stuffy formula of the newspaper 'obit' into a high comic form...There have been three previous collections of Massingberd obits. With the fourth, Rogues, he has produced a book which is even funnier than the previous three put together...Almost every page of this book will make you moan with laughter. But put it down and someone will instantly snatch it from under your nose.'

Customer Reviews

truly a celebration of the wonderous variety of human nature
I learned of this book through a review in the New Yorker, and was so intrigued with the wonderful, tongue-in-cheek style and the almost unbelievable content that I put quite a bit of effort into tracking it down. It more than repaid that effort. The obituaries are not depressing; instead, they really are a celebration of the wonderful, zany variety of human nature. I feel privileged to have shared a century with many of the people in this book. Read, for example, of Margaret Mee, a botanical artist, who repelled a band of gold prospectors in Brazil by remarking, as she leveled a revolver at them, "I haven't had a lot of shooting practice, but really I think I'm quite good. After all, a steady hand and a good eye are absolutely essential qualities for a painter, wouldn't you say?" Or read of Nesta Cox, an English nanny working in France who became a hero of the French Resistance and had airlifted to her by the RAF not only supplies for sabotage but also packets of tea. Or read of the author BB, who "at the age of four . . . incontrovertibly saw a gnome." This book has it all: humble heroes and well-born villains, gay hairdressers and mad scholars. And when you finish it, there are three more collections: Heroes and Adventurers, Entertainers, and Rogues. Enjoy!