Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi

Added: (Mon Feb 07 2005)

Pressbox (Press Release) - Now available from http://www.lulu.com/josh-rogan, a scanned copy of the 1854 Routledge edition of 'Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi' ( edited by Boz ). This is the biography of the famous Victorian clown and pantomime artist, Joseph Grimaldi. The manuscript of this work finally landed on the desk of Charles Dickens, only after the subject passed it to writer Thomas Egerton Wilks, who himself sold it on to the publisher Richard Bentley, who then offered the job to Dickens, who duly polished it up, added extras, but proclaimed himself as editor only, not author. This has been scanned from the original, and self-published by author John Haines, of Crosby, Liverpool, United Kingdom. This is the book which is missing from most 'Complete' or 'Collected' works of Charles Dickens. This is no surprise as this particular edition, and similar Victorian/Edwardian editions are long out of print, and although there is the albeit more biographically accurate 1968 revision by Findlater, this lacks the sense of history that the originals evoke. Sadly, as with many projects to breathe new life into Victoriana , there had to be a few pages here and there drafted in from other sources, but not only is the story complete as per the original, there are the added extras of adverts from previous editions, and the stunning colour sketch of Grimaldi on the rear cover. The hard copy costs $25.46 US( & P&P ), and the download is $15.00 US.
John Haines, Crosby, Liverpool
February 2005