Product Description

The hardback of this first and authorised biography received very good reviews and immediately reprinted. It tells the story of one of the heroines of post-war British comedy, on radio, film and TV. Hattie Jacques is known as the billowing, imposing Matron in the Carry On films, as the star of such BBC radio classics as ITMA, Educating Archie and Hancock's Half Hour, and as the fictional sister of Eric Sykes in his long-running TV sitcom. But the formidable, frumpy galleon-in-full-sail screen persona could not have been more at odds with the real-life woman, as this biography reveals for the first time. She had a tempestuous wartime affair with an American officer, and then a strange marriage to the actor John le Mesurier (Corporal Wilson in Dad's Army) whose dissatisfactions she circumnavigated by moving her lover, a flashy Cockney car dealer, into the matrimonial home. But as well as being warm and sexy and generous she was also, owing to her lifelong struggle with her weight, needy and melancholic, and rueful that her size persistently typecast her and excluded her from many roles. This biography has been written with full co-operation from Hattie's son, and show business friends like Barbara Windsor, Clive Dunn, Galton and Simpson and Ian Carmichael. Andy Merriman is the son of the legendary comedy scriptwriter Eric Merriman.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #248490 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Review
"* 'What an altogether good book this is - excellently researched and infused with a love of its subject' Daily Telegraph * 'An affectionate salute to a lost talent' The Herald * '[A] convincingly warm-hearted portrait' Spectator"

About the Author
Andy Merriman is the son of the legendary comedy scriptwriter Eric Merriman.

Customer Reviews

Out of the blue, one of the best.
I've been reading show business biographies for decades, and this effort by Andy Merriman is one of the best I've come across. Jacques was a much-loved figure and the author goes to some lengths to explain why. He doesn't shy away from her frustration with the work she got, or her unconventional approach to life. Among revelations (to this reader, at least) is the assertion that all was not as rosy between Hattie and Eric Sykes as one might have imagined. Kudos to the writer and the publishers for not padding the book with out a hundred or so pages of filmographies, etc., a worrying trend, especially when forking out large amounts for hardbacks.

Showbiz prose at its finest
This is an exceptionally well written showbiz biography which goes well beyond what I expected from the tales of the well loved actress' life. There is a wealth of anecdotes from British favourites in addition to revelations about Hattie Jacques that will both shock and surprise. Andrew Merriman has a natural gift for encapsulating all that Hattie stood for and I await more of this kind of work from him in the future. There is an in-depth review on The Telegraph website which also endorses the credentials of this offering, which ought to be, at least, a definitive fun and engaging christmas read.

Worth the wait!
I've been waiting years for this book. Hattie Jacques was one of the finest actresses of her generation. And, like Joan Sims, was so much more than just a member of the Carry On team.

Hattie's hugely interesting life-story has been very well researched and wonderfully written. The illustrations are a joy and contributions manifold. Easily the best biography i've read this year.