The writer and comedian chooses his favourite biographies and memoirs. His new book, “What Have I Done? My Autobiography” is out now; he’ll be speaking at Edinburgh’s Assembly Rooms on 13 October.
My Autobiography
A beautifully written account of the life of the most celebrated comic artist who ever lived, who journeyed from a childhood of unimaginable pain and poverty to fame and fortune without frontiers. Chaplin understood that comedy and tragedy are two sides of the same coin. After reading this book, it’s easy to understand why.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A Talent to Amuse
Sheridan Morley, 1969
A terrific introduction to Noël Coward, the man once referred to by actors and writers alike as “The Master”. It’s dated to the modern eye, containing as it does only guarded allusions to Coward’s private life as a gay man, but it’s entertaining and concise on his fabulous life in the theatre. I read it when I was 13 and it made me want to write comic plays myself.
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill
William Manchester and Paul Reid, 2015
Anyone in any doubt of the towering genius, awesome courage and deeply inspiring (if flawed) character of Winston Churchill should read this great adventure story. As should anyone who still clings to Marx’s theory of historical materialism – individuals can make history, and few have made more of it than Churchill.
The Moon’s a Balloon
David Niven, 1971
One of the best show-business memoirs ever written. A hilarious, hair-raising and touchingly human story, and also a brilliant introduction to Hollywood’s golden age. Niven was a glorious amateur, falling as effortlessly into the role of movie star as he did of real-life war hero.
Will in the World
Stephen Greenblatt, 2004
This is the book I started with when I began work on “Upstart Crow.” A thrillingly illuminating, intellectually rigorous, psychologically astute investigation into the life and work of Shakespeare. Who very definitely wrote his plays.
Titles in print are available from The Week Bookshop
-
Claudia Sheinbaum and Mexico’s sexual harassment problemUnder the Radar Claudia Sheinbaum vows action against sexual harassment after viral incident, but machismo and violence against women remains deeply ingrained
-
Political cartoons for November 9Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include a ripoff, and the land of opportunity
-
A ‘golden age’ of nuclear powerThe Explainer The government is promising to ‘fire up nuclear power’. Why, and how?
-
6 homes with fall foliagefeature An autumnal orange Craftsman, a renovated Greek Revival church and an estate with an orchard
-
Bugonia: ‘deranged, extreme and explosively enjoyable’Talking Point Yorgos Lanthimos’ film stars Emma Stone as a CEO who is kidnapped and accused of being an alien
-
The Revolutionists: a ‘superb and monumental’ bookThe Week Recommends Jason Burke ‘epic’ account of the plane hijackings and kidnappings carried out by extremists in the 1970s
-
Film reviews: ‘Bugonia,’ ‘The Mastermind’ and ‘Nouvelle Vague’feature A kidnapped CEO might only appear to be human, an amateurish art heist goes sideways, and Jean-Luc Godard’s ‘Breathless’ gets a lively homage
-
Book reviews: ‘Against the Machine: On the Unmaking of Humanity’ and ‘Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice’feature An examination of humanity in the face of “the Machine” and a posthumous memoir from one of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims, who recently died by suicide
-
The dazzling coral gardens of Raja AmpatThe Week Recommends Region of Indonesia is home to perhaps the planet’s most photogenic archipelago
-
Salted caramel and chocolate tart recipeThe Week Recommends Delicious dessert can be made with any biscuits you fancy
-
6 trailside homes for hikersFeature Featuring a roof deck with skyline views in California and a home with access to private trails in Montana
