About the Author

Simon Callow is an actor, director and writer. He has appeared on the stage in many films, including the hugely popular Four Weddings and a Funeral. Callow’s books include ‘Being an Actor’, ‘Shooting the Actor’, a highly acclaimed biography of Charles Laughton, a multi-volume biography of Orson Welles (of which the first two parts have been published) and ‘Love is Where it Falls’, an account of his friendship with the great play agent, Peggy Ramsay.

Reviews

‘This is the book we have long been waiting for and only Simon Callow could have written it. The theatre was central to Dickens’s life, and it needed a skilled biographer to do justice to the subject. Simon Callow rises superbly to the challenge and the result is a marvellous book that really deepens and enriches our understanding and enjoyment of Dickens.’ Michael Slater ‘A comprehensive biography as enthralling as one of his own performances … A great achievement.’
Catherine Peters, Literary Review ‘Vivid and exuberant… This book, with its fresh angles and out-of-the-way sources, is the harvest of [Callow’s] dedication [to impersonating Dickens on stage]… His book is a celebration, jubilant, vigorous, imaginative, and, as Dickens might have said, an all-round sizzler.’ John Carey, Sunday Times ‘Callow . . . writes with great authority and elegant insouciance, which makes this "biography with a twist" very entertaining.’ Independent on Sunday ‘By his enthusiasm for his subject, Callow has ensured that his book is a worthy addition to the Dickens studies.’ Sunday Express