Rob Beckett: A Class Act
Review of the comedian's memoirs
02/11/2021 … You can thank Covid for every comedian deciding they had a book in them once they were stuck at home, but Rob Beckett has delved deeper that knocking out a passable…
Latest Books
Reviews of books about comedy, including biographies of comedians old and new, and (occasionally) books by comedians. To have a book considered for review, send a copy to Chortle, 112 Norman Road, London, E11 4RL.
Tue 02 November 2021
Mon 11 October 2021
Bob Mortimer: And Away... The Autobiography
11/10/2021 … Bob Mortimer has had his life saved twice now.
Mon 04 October 2021
© Netflix Sidesplitter, by Phil Wang
04/10/2021 … Identity is at the heart of everything today – comedy included – and ethnically Phil Wang has been dealt quite the hand: British-Chinese-Malaysian,…
Thu 12 August 2021
Jane Is Trying, by Isy Suttie
12/08/2021 … Vladimir Nabokov famously said: ‘The writer's job is to get the main character up a tree, and then once they are up there, throw rocks at them.
Thu 29 July 2021
Cack-Handed, by Gina Yashere
Review of the comedian's memoir
29/07/2021 … I’m not sure Cack-Handed is the perfect title for Gina Yashere’s memoirs.
Thu 08 July 2021
Sunshine And Laughter: The Story of Morecambe & Wise
Review of Louis Barfe's new biography
08/07/2021 … It’s testament to the enduring appeal of Morecambe and Wise that I already have nine books about them on my shelf.
Thu 24 June 2021
Stand Up, Barry Goldman by David J Cohen
24/06/2021 … There’s no need to ask where Have I Got News For You and Horrible Histories writer Dave Cohen (or rather, ‘David J Cohen’, now he’s…
Mon 24 May 2021
© MarkWSutton The History of Stand-Up by Wayne Federman
24/05/2021 … In 2015, showbiz historian Kilph Nesteroff wrote The Comedians, a near-definitive and thoroughly entertaining account of the evolution of American comedy, from…