Hattie: The Authorised Biography of Hattie Jacques

by Andy Merriman

The hardback of this first and authorised biography received very good reviews and was immediately reprinted. It tells the story of one of the heroines of post-war British comedy, on radio, film and TV.Hattie Jacques is known as the billowing, imposing Matron in the "Carry On" films, as the star of such BBC radio classics as ITMA, Educating Archie and Hancock's Half Hour, and as the fictional sister of Eric Sykes in his long-running TV sitcom.But the formidable, frumpy galleon-in-full-sail screen persona could not have been more at odds with the real-life woman, as this biography reveals for the first time. She had a tempestuous wartime affair with an American officer, and then a strange marriage to the actor John le Mesurier (Corporal Wilson in "Dad's Army") whose dissatisfactions she circumnavigated by moving her lover, a flashy Cockney car dealer, into the matrimonial home. But as well as being warm and sexy and generous she was also, owing to her lifelong struggle with her weight, needy and melancholic, and rueful that her size persistently typecast her and excluded her from many roles.This biography has been written with full cooperation from Hattie's son, and show business friends like Barbard Windsor, Clive Dunn, Galton and Simpson and Ian Carmichael.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

267 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2007

Reviews

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent book about a very well loved and admired actress. I didn't know much about Hattie Jacques as a person before reading this book. Best known from her roles in the Carry On films, we learn about her childhood and how she got into acting. It was interesting to learn not just about her professional career, but her personal life too. She seemed to be admired and loved by everyone she met.

I thought the author went into a lot of detail in telling us about Hattie, and did a lot of research on her. She was certainly very much loved and admired by everyone.

Andy Merriman

[HattieB · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book - I recommend it if you're a fan of her various comedic roles.

[Mick Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I hadn't seen the recent documentary on channel 5 I would have awarded the book full five didnt learn anything new even the breakdown of the partnership with Eric Sykes didnt come as a surprise as it was discussed on the programme.saying that the persona of Hattie comes across as a very liked person who was always looking for love,but when found wanted something else.her career much overshadowed by the carry ons was varied and fluctuating in success.learnt her craft the hard way not by instant recognition as in the case of the so called celebrities of today.

[Paula Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely amazing biography of one very special lady Hattie Jacques, who's life was committed to very hard work both on screen and radio, to the amazing charities she helped to the end, and to her family and friends who she adored. She is a amazing role model to anyone who's passion is to tread, the boards of acting. She was one amazing passionate lady, who put the size of her self to one side, to show us this Incredible talented actress. And with very hard work to can achieve your goal!. Loved reading every bit of this book.

[Shar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book - I have always been interested in Hattie Jacques but didn't know much about her personal life - in the book there are a lot of details about her films, stage work etc which I could have done without - and I did skim read those bits - but despite that I think this book is totally worth 5* it was an easy and fascinating read - and I admire Hattie even more so now!

[Brenda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Far too much like a Wikipedia listing. Didn't really learn much about who she was.

[Jane Payne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love Hattie Jacques and this took us through her personal and public life Was an interesting read but wished it had gone deeper into some parts

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

A talented, fascinating lady 🩷

[Geevee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pleasure to read and I came away understanding more about Hattie's personality, her career, family and how her size and weight affected her life in both good and bad ways.

The author's style is easy and I felt he had done consderable research to provide the picture of his subject. At times his personal interjections interupted and in some cases irritated me, but these are few and like some basic editing errors do not detract from the book.

I have read a few biographies/auto-biographies with people involved in entertainment and, as another reviewer says this one can at times read like a list of television programmes and films - but then biogs on sports or say music personalities do this too with gigs, albums or matches. In the case of Mr Merriman's book I thought he tackled the subject well and provided the right mix of detail to interweave the stories around Hattie's work.

Where I felt he was particularly strong was in telling the story of Hattie's charity work - long before it was a must do PR photo event for celebs - and her personal relationships including her generosity to friends. Her relationship with Eric Sykes was also revealing although here more could have been explored or others interviewed.

For me this was a good read about an actress whose work on Sykes and the Carry on films I enjoyed as a child. I came away feeling she was a talented lady with a kind heart who longed for love and more challenging acting roles.

[Julie Haigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely nostalgic read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. It really took me back as I have watched carry on films from an early age and still watch them over and over again on Gold tv channel, I practically know the scripts now. I love the characters in these films; this book mentions lots of them and provides a real insight into their relationships with Hattie. I won't give away any of the happenings so I don't spoil it for those not read it yet but there are surprising facts about her marriage to John Le Mesurier- not what I thought or had heard at all and this book tells it like it was because Hattie' s son has been involved in giving info for the book. I've given this 4 stars because I would have liked some photos, there aren't any. Ok I know what Hattie looks like but I would have liked to have seen pics from shows and films also, there are numerous actors mentioned and some didn't seem familiar but when I looked up on computer and saw their photos I did know who they were, just not by name so if pictures in the book I wouldn't have had to interrupt the reading flow. Also it's 4stars because there's just one area where the book lags a bit. It was easy reading from the start- very easy to get into then it seemed to just list this film and that film she had been in so I thought it was going to get a bit boring and repetitive but it soon picked up momentum again. There's lots of amazing facts in here, it's very well written. This was a wonderful read.

[Jade Dermody · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a biography goes this book is OK. Its more of a list of the many different jobs that Hattie did, which although shows her range as an actress, can get a bit boring. However when information regarding the actress life comes into play you get a real sense of how kind and sexy the woman was. A real bohemian with a very open mind for the time

[Ipswichblade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very readable biography of Hattie Jacques, a sign of a good biography is that even if it's authorised is that you get get both good and not so good sides of a person and this covers all the ups and downs of Hattie's life. Its a sign of how old I feel is that its over 43 years ago that she died!!

[Kelly (smeets_books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this bio of a great comedienne. Quite a few grammatical errors though (sorry that kind of thing bothers me!)

[Elizabeth Blows · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it I really shouldn't have to say more !

[Mike Jennings · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, informative, easy to read but ultimately very sad.

[David Highton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mildly interesting read, having caught part of the BBC4 play based on this book, and reflects the entertainment media of the times, very different from now, and has a 50s feel

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an utterly silly woman Hattie was. She had the love of a good man and threw it all away for sex with her chauffer.

[Kenneth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14543724