"CHARLIE CHAPLIN: A Brief Life" by acclaimed author Peter Ackroyd, in stores October 28
From award-winning biographer, historian, and novelist, comes Peter Ackroyd's CHARLIE CHAPLIN: A Brief Life, a brief yet definitive new biography of one of film's greatest legends.
He was the very first icon of the silver screen
and is one of the most recognizable of Hollywood faces, even a hundred years
after his first film. But who was the man behind the moustache? What drove the
artist who not only directed the films but held the camera and acted in front
of it?
Peter Ackroyd's new biography turns the spotlight on Chaplin's often controversial life as well as on his classic films, from his humble theatrical beginnings in music halls to winning an honorary Academy Award. Everything is here, from the glamour of his golden age to the murky scandals of the 1940s and eventual exile to Switzerland. This masterful brief biography offers fresh revelations about one of the most familiar faces of the last century and brings the Little Tramp vividly to life.
"Detailed
yet breezy, full of sharp insights into Chaplin's public and private personas
... Expect plenty of interest in this fine biography."
-Booklist, starred review
"In his typically elegant and
measured prose, prize-winning biographer Ackroyd (Shakespeare: The Biography) brilliantly brings Chaplin to life…
Ackroyd masterfully paints the colorful backdrop of the youthful film industry,
in which Chaplin made a name for himself as one of the first real celebrities
of his time… Ackroyd's book introduces the Little Tramp in such a charming and
candid fashion that it will drive movie buffs to watch Chaplin on screen once
again."
-Publisher's Weekly, starred review
"Award-winning author Ackroyd
exposes the hidden truths in Chaplin's life that help us to understand the
artist both personally and professionally. An exceptional read for those who
love Chaplin, film, history, and gossip."
-Library Journal
"Evocative and moving… Readers are left with an understanding of
Chaplin's background, the biographical details of his long and troubled life…A
comprehensive look at Chaplin the man."
-Kirkus Reviews
"Chaplin's rise makes an enthralling story, and it's one perfectly suited to
Peter Ackroyd's prodigious and idiosyncratic talents ... Ackroyd acknowledges
Chaplin's many human failings, while at the same time giving us a vivid sense
of what made the man a genius."
-The Telegraph
"[A] fine biography ... The luxury of a short book about a vast life cannot be
overestimated."
-Financial Times
"Ackroyd brings a novelist's as well as a biographer's eye to the story of a
man who 'seemed to epitomize the human condition itself, flawed and frail and
funny.'"
-The Independent
"Compact, engrossing, intelligent."
-The Sunday Times
(London
)