A Strange Eventful History: The Dramatic Lives of Ellen Terry, Henry Irving and Their Remarkable Families

Michael Holroyd

Chatto & Windus, 2008 - Biography & Autobiography - 620 pages

A major literary event from òne of the greatest biographers of our age': Michael Holroyd's stunning biography is an epic yet intimate portrait of two theatrical dynasties that moves from the Victorian stage to the modern age. Ellen Terry was a natural actress who filled the theatre with a magical radiance. The Times called her the ùncrowned queen of England' but behind her public success lay a darker story. The child-bride of G. F. Watts, she eloped with a friend of Oscar Wilde at 21 and gave birth to 2 illegitimate children. But her greatest partnership was on-stage, with legendary actor-manager and tragedian Henry Irving.

About the author

Michael Holroyd was born in London, England on August 27, 1935. He was educated at Eton College. He published his first book, a biography of writer Hugh Kingsmill, in 1964. He has also written the biographies of George Bernard Shaw, Augustus John, Lytton Strachey, and Ellen Terry and Henry Irving. His other works include Basil Street Blues, Mosaic, and A Book of Secrets: Illegitimate Daughters, Absent Fathers. He has received several awards including the Heywood Hill Literary Prize in 2001, the David Cohen British Prize for Literature in 2005, and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for biography for A Strange Eventful History in 2009. He was knighted for his services to literature in 2007.

Bibliographic information

• Title: A Strange Eventful History: The Dramatic Lives of Ellen Terry, Henry Irving and Their Remarkable Families
• Author: Michael Holroyd
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Chatto & Windus, 2008
• ISBN: 0701179872, 9780701179878
• Length: 620 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts; Biography & Autobiography / General; Performing Arts / Theater / History & Criticism