Author: Tom Quinn
Publisher: Biteback Publishing
ISBN: 1849548935
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 203
Book Description
"William Tallon was a creature of extremes: though intensely loyal, he was also a dangerous risk-taker; though charming, he could also be vicious; though considerate and amusing, he could be ruthless and predatory. For much of his life he was driven by two demons: a powerful sex drive and an intense, almost pathological love for the Queen Mother..." From humble beginnings as a shopkeeper's son in Coventry to 'Page of the Backstairs' at Clarence House, William Tallon, or 'Backstairs Billy' as he came to be known, entered royal service at the age of fifteen. Over the next fifty years, he became one of the most notorious and flamboyant characters ever to have graced the royal household - the one servant the Queen Mother just could not do without. While others came and went, he remained by her side, becoming one of her most trusted friends and confidants. The fascinating life story of the man who spent more than half a century working for one of the world's most elusive institutions, Backstairs Billy provides a rare glimpse of what the royals really get up to behind closed doors...
Backstairs Billy
Author: Tom Quinn
Publisher: Biteback Publishing
ISBN: 1849548935
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 203
Book Description
"William Tallon was a creature of extremes: though intensely loyal, he was also a dangerous risk-taker; though charming, he could also be vicious; though considerate and amusing, he could be ruthless and predatory. For much of his life he was driven by two demons: a powerful sex drive and an intense, almost pathological love for the Queen Mother..." From humble beginnings as a shopkeeper's son in Coventry to 'Page of the Backstairs' at Clarence House, William Tallon, or 'Backstairs Billy' as he came to be known, entered royal service at the age of fifteen. Over the next fifty years, he became one of the most notorious and flamboyant characters ever to have graced the royal household - the one servant the Queen Mother just could not do without. While others came and went, he remained by her side, becoming one of her most trusted friends and confidants. The fascinating life story of the man who spent more than half a century working for one of the world's most elusive institutions, Backstairs Billy provides a rare glimpse of what the royals really get up to behind closed doors...
Publisher: Biteback Publishing
ISBN: 1849548935
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 203
Book Description
"William Tallon was a creature of extremes: though intensely loyal, he was also a dangerous risk-taker; though charming, he could also be vicious; though considerate and amusing, he could be ruthless and predatory. For much of his life he was driven by two demons: a powerful sex drive and an intense, almost pathological love for the Queen Mother..." From humble beginnings as a shopkeeper's son in Coventry to 'Page of the Backstairs' at Clarence House, William Tallon, or 'Backstairs Billy' as he came to be known, entered royal service at the age of fifteen. Over the next fifty years, he became one of the most notorious and flamboyant characters ever to have graced the royal household - the one servant the Queen Mother just could not do without. While others came and went, he remained by her side, becoming one of her most trusted friends and confidants. The fascinating life story of the man who spent more than half a century working for one of the world's most elusive institutions, Backstairs Billy provides a rare glimpse of what the royals really get up to behind closed doors...
Little Billy Tallon
Author: T. Y. MUNROE
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781980714170
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 382
Book Description
This book is about William Tallon who was The Queen Mother's Page (Butler). It is not an exposé, but a memoir of working with William at Clarence House by bringing his voice and experiences alive in the way he was, using conversations and events taken from real life. For years as the personal 'Butler' (His ancient job title was Page of the backstairs) to the last Empress of India he enjoyed the high life, drinking Her Majesty's Champagne and cavorting with the guests, paying none or little attention to protocol, either inside or outside palace walls. He loved it! He may have thought he was invincible but of course he was not. He was just a boy from Newcastle. The Press hounded him when Queen Elizabeth died. Not as bad as they hounded Princess Diana but same old thing.'Backstairs Billy' was his nickname created by the Press and used by them ever since. He never gave in, he kept his mouth shut until he died.We go inside Clarence House to join him and his staff over the 100th birthday, and in preparations for a summer trip to Balmoral in Scotland. Then we go with him to serve dinner in the royal box at the ballet at The Royal Opera House.Then we go to Sandringham and eventually back to London in 2002.All this and having to quickly train up a handsome new footman. The new boy is finding it difficult to fit in to such an old fashioned and competitively camp establishment, and as there is no formal training the place is run under its own rules. After all, nobody can tell Queen Elizabeth what to do.Perhaps William's notorious reputation over the years was deserved, as he ran the place on his own terms, but his life suddenly begins to unravel.The book sets out to create a real life time capsule of how it was to work there with William and others, using first hand experience of conversations with William.He worked 50 years but he was not required around Queen Elizabeth for the last few weeks of her life, which tormented him to the last, yet from the adulation to the agony, he would probably love to do the whole thing all over again!
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781980714170
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 382
Book Description
This book is about William Tallon who was The Queen Mother's Page (Butler). It is not an exposé, but a memoir of working with William at Clarence House by bringing his voice and experiences alive in the way he was, using conversations and events taken from real life. For years as the personal 'Butler' (His ancient job title was Page of the backstairs) to the last Empress of India he enjoyed the high life, drinking Her Majesty's Champagne and cavorting with the guests, paying none or little attention to protocol, either inside or outside palace walls. He loved it! He may have thought he was invincible but of course he was not. He was just a boy from Newcastle. The Press hounded him when Queen Elizabeth died. Not as bad as they hounded Princess Diana but same old thing.'Backstairs Billy' was his nickname created by the Press and used by them ever since. He never gave in, he kept his mouth shut until he died.We go inside Clarence House to join him and his staff over the 100th birthday, and in preparations for a summer trip to Balmoral in Scotland. Then we go with him to serve dinner in the royal box at the ballet at The Royal Opera House.Then we go to Sandringham and eventually back to London in 2002.All this and having to quickly train up a handsome new footman. The new boy is finding it difficult to fit in to such an old fashioned and competitively camp establishment, and as there is no formal training the place is run under its own rules. After all, nobody can tell Queen Elizabeth what to do.Perhaps William's notorious reputation over the years was deserved, as he ran the place on his own terms, but his life suddenly begins to unravel.The book sets out to create a real life time capsule of how it was to work there with William and others, using first hand experience of conversations with William.He worked 50 years but he was not required around Queen Elizabeth for the last few weeks of her life, which tormented him to the last, yet from the adulation to the agony, he would probably love to do the whole thing all over again!
Mrs Keppel
Author: Tom Quinn
Publisher: Biteback Publishing
ISBN: 1785901532
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 223
Book Description
For Alice Keppel, it was all about appearances. Her precepts were those of the English upper classes: discretion, manners and charm. Nothing else mattered - especially when it came to her infamous affair with King Edward VII. As the King's favourite mistress up until his death in 1910, Alice held significant influence at court and over Edward himself. But it wasn't just Edward she courted: throughout her life, Alice enthusiastically embarked on affairs with bankers, MPs, peers - anybody who could elevate her standing and pay the right price. She was a shrewd courtesan, and her charisma and voracity ensured her both power and money, combined as they were with an aptitude for manipulation. Drawing on a range of sources, including salacious first-hand eyewitness accounts, bestselling author Tom Quinn paints an extraordinary picture of the Edwardian aristocracy, and traces the lives of royal mistresses down to Alice's great-granddaughter, the current Duchess of Cornwall. Both intriguing and astonishing, this is an unadulterated glimpse into a hidden world of scandal, decadence and debauchery.
Publisher: Biteback Publishing
ISBN: 1785901532
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 223
Book Description
For Alice Keppel, it was all about appearances. Her precepts were those of the English upper classes: discretion, manners and charm. Nothing else mattered - especially when it came to her infamous affair with King Edward VII. As the King's favourite mistress up until his death in 1910, Alice held significant influence at court and over Edward himself. But it wasn't just Edward she courted: throughout her life, Alice enthusiastically embarked on affairs with bankers, MPs, peers - anybody who could elevate her standing and pay the right price. She was a shrewd courtesan, and her charisma and voracity ensured her both power and money, combined as they were with an aptitude for manipulation. Drawing on a range of sources, including salacious first-hand eyewitness accounts, bestselling author Tom Quinn paints an extraordinary picture of the Edwardian aristocracy, and traces the lives of royal mistresses down to Alice's great-granddaughter, the current Duchess of Cornwall. Both intriguing and astonishing, this is an unadulterated glimpse into a hidden world of scandal, decadence and debauchery.
Crumbs from the Table of Joy
Author: Lynn Nottage
Publisher: Dramatists Play Service Inc
ISBN: 9780822215721
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 76
Book Description
THE STORY: Recently widowed Godfrey, and his daughters Ernestine and Ermina, move from Florida to Brooklyn for a better life. Not knowing how to parent, Godfrey turns to religion, and especially to Father Divine, for answers. The girls absorb their
Publisher: Dramatists Play Service Inc
ISBN: 9780822215721
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 76
Book Description
THE STORY: Recently widowed Godfrey, and his daughters Ernestine and Ermina, move from Florida to Brooklyn for a better life. Not knowing how to parent, Godfrey turns to religion, and especially to Father Divine, for answers. The girls absorb their
The Reluctant Billionaire
Author: Tom Quinn
Publisher: Biteback Publishing
ISBN: 1785904248
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 245
Book Description
When Gerald Grosvenor, sixth Duke of Westminster, died in August 2016 he was one of the world's richest men, his fortune estimated at just under £10 billion. Yet he hated his wealth and spent long periods suffering from severe depression, much of it brought on by a feeling that his whole life had been a failure and that his money had destroyed any chance of happiness. At the same time, he could be ruthless in running the business while often feeling he was only a mascot. Gerald Grosvenor came into the line of succession by mere chance – or 'rotten bad luck' as he put it. The third Duke was childless and the title passed to a cousin, who became fourth Duke in 1963 and then, when he died four years later, to his younger brother, Gerald's father, Robert Grosvenor, who lived on an island in Lough Erne where Gerald grew up. Tom Quinn interviewed the sixth Duke on a number of occasions as well as people who knew the duke socially or had at various times worked with or for him. He discovered a complex man tortured by what he saw as his failures. He was a man who longed to return to his idyllic rural childhood yet was only really happy as an adult in the company of call girls. The book looks at the long and often eccentric history of the Grosvenor family and its wealth and the complex means by which that wealth has been shielded from the taxman, as well as the bizarre life of a man who was that strangest of things: The Reluctant Billionaire.
Publisher: Biteback Publishing
ISBN: 1785904248
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 245
Book Description
When Gerald Grosvenor, sixth Duke of Westminster, died in August 2016 he was one of the world's richest men, his fortune estimated at just under £10 billion. Yet he hated his wealth and spent long periods suffering from severe depression, much of it brought on by a feeling that his whole life had been a failure and that his money had destroyed any chance of happiness. At the same time, he could be ruthless in running the business while often feeling he was only a mascot. Gerald Grosvenor came into the line of succession by mere chance – or 'rotten bad luck' as he put it. The third Duke was childless and the title passed to a cousin, who became fourth Duke in 1963 and then, when he died four years later, to his younger brother, Gerald's father, Robert Grosvenor, who lived on an island in Lough Erne where Gerald grew up. Tom Quinn interviewed the sixth Duke on a number of occasions as well as people who knew the duke socially or had at various times worked with or for him. He discovered a complex man tortured by what he saw as his failures. He was a man who longed to return to his idyllic rural childhood yet was only really happy as an adult in the company of call girls. The book looks at the long and often eccentric history of the Grosvenor family and its wealth and the complex means by which that wealth has been shielded from the taxman, as well as the bizarre life of a man who was that strangest of things: The Reluctant Billionaire.
Mastercrafts
Author: Tom Quinn
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780715336434
Category : Artisans
Languages : en
Pages : 256
Book Description
This is a major new exploration of traditional British craftsmanship, accompanying the prime time BBC TV series presented by Monty Don. Mastercrafts; gave the opportunity for apprentices in six traditional crafts to learn intensively from a master.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780715336434
Category : Artisans
Languages : en
Pages : 256
Book Description
This is a major new exploration of traditional British craftsmanship, accompanying the prime time BBC TV series presented by Monty Don. Mastercrafts; gave the opportunity for apprentices in six traditional crafts to learn intensively from a master.
It's a Long Way from Penny Apples
Author: Bill Cullen
Publisher: Mercier Press Ltd
ISBN: 1856354008
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 385
Book Description
Paperback edition of the number one best-seller that made Bill Cullen a household name. The Bill Cullen story is an account of incredible poverty and deprivation in the Dublin slums. It highlights the frustration of a mother and father feeling their relationship crumble as they fight to give their children a better life. It's a story of courage, joy and happiness. Of how a mother gave inspiration and values to her children saying, 'The best thing I can give you is the independence to stand on your own feet'.
Publisher: Mercier Press Ltd
ISBN: 1856354008
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 385
Book Description
Paperback edition of the number one best-seller that made Bill Cullen a household name. The Bill Cullen story is an account of incredible poverty and deprivation in the Dublin slums. It highlights the frustration of a mother and father feeling their relationship crumble as they fight to give their children a better life. It's a story of courage, joy and happiness. Of how a mother gave inspiration and values to her children saying, 'The best thing I can give you is the independence to stand on your own feet'.
Whose life is it anyway?.
Author: Brian Clark
Publisher: Dramatic Publishing
ISBN: 9780871293718
Category : Drama
Languages : fr
Pages : 86
Book Description
Suite à un accident d'auto, un jeune sculpteur de talent, Ken Harrisson, se retrouve à l'hôpital, paralysé des épaules aux pieds. Le chirurgien qui l'a opéré lui annonce que son état est incurable et que, pour survivre, il lui faut rester à l'hôpital, et subir des traitements continuels. Ken exige que l'on cesse ces traitements, rabrouant avec ironie ceux qui cherchent à le réconforter. Par l'entremise d'un avocat, il obtient que se tienne une commission judiciaire qui aura à se prononcer sur son cas.
Publisher: Dramatic Publishing
ISBN: 9780871293718
Category : Drama
Languages : fr
Pages : 86
Book Description
Suite à un accident d'auto, un jeune sculpteur de talent, Ken Harrisson, se retrouve à l'hôpital, paralysé des épaules aux pieds. Le chirurgien qui l'a opéré lui annonce que son état est incurable et que, pour survivre, il lui faut rester à l'hôpital, et subir des traitements continuels. Ken exige que l'on cesse ces traitements, rabrouant avec ironie ceux qui cherchent à le réconforter. Par l'entremise d'un avocat, il obtient que se tienne une commission judiciaire qui aura à se prononcer sur son cas.
Kensington Palace
Author: Tom Quinn
Publisher: Biteback Publishing
ISBN: 1785905910
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 274
Book Description
For more than 300 years, Kensington Palace has played host to a colourful cast of kings, queens and assorted aristocratic hangers-on. A stone's throw from the bustling streets of central London, this grand building has served as the stage for some of the most dramatic and bizarre events in the history of the royal family. It was here that the young Queen Victoria was held a virtual prisoner for eighteen years; and it was here that George II installed both his wife and his mistress, giving the latter rooms so damp that there were said to be mushrooms growing on the walls. More recently, the palace has witnessed an extraordinary series of scandals, from Princess Diana's bombshell TV interview with a journalist smuggled into the palace disguised as a salesman, to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's shock departure – first for Frogmore Cottage, and then for America – amid rumours of a rift with William and Kate. With exclusive interviews with palace staff past and present, fascinating historical details and a fully updated postscript considering what life after Kensington holds for Harry and Meghan, Kensington Palace: An Intimate Memoir from Queen Mary to Meghan Markle offers a rare behind-the-scenes insight into one of Britain's most iconic residences.
Publisher: Biteback Publishing
ISBN: 1785905910
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 274
Book Description
For more than 300 years, Kensington Palace has played host to a colourful cast of kings, queens and assorted aristocratic hangers-on. A stone's throw from the bustling streets of central London, this grand building has served as the stage for some of the most dramatic and bizarre events in the history of the royal family. It was here that the young Queen Victoria was held a virtual prisoner for eighteen years; and it was here that George II installed both his wife and his mistress, giving the latter rooms so damp that there were said to be mushrooms growing on the walls. More recently, the palace has witnessed an extraordinary series of scandals, from Princess Diana's bombshell TV interview with a journalist smuggled into the palace disguised as a salesman, to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's shock departure – first for Frogmore Cottage, and then for America – amid rumours of a rift with William and Kate. With exclusive interviews with palace staff past and present, fascinating historical details and a fully updated postscript considering what life after Kensington holds for Harry and Meghan, Kensington Palace: An Intimate Memoir from Queen Mary to Meghan Markle offers a rare behind-the-scenes insight into one of Britain's most iconic residences.
Six Characters in Search of an Author and Other Plays
Author: Luigi Pirandello
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9780140189223
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 228
Book Description
A volume of plays from the founding architect of twentieth-century drama, including his most popular and controversial work A Penguin Classic Pirandello is brilliantly innovatory in his forms and themes, and in the combined energy, imagination and visual colours of his theatre. This volume of plays, translated from the Italian by Mark Musa, opens with Six Characters in Search of an Author, in which six characters invade the stage and demand to be included in the play. The tragedy Henry IV dramatizes the lucid madness of a man who may be King. In So It Is (If You Think So), the townspeople exercise a morbid curiosity attempting to discover “the truth” about the Ponza family. Each of these plays can lay claim to being Pirandello’s masterpiece, and in exploring the nature of human personality, each one stretches the resources of drama to their limits. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,800 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9780140189223
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 228
Book Description
A volume of plays from the founding architect of twentieth-century drama, including his most popular and controversial work A Penguin Classic Pirandello is brilliantly innovatory in his forms and themes, and in the combined energy, imagination and visual colours of his theatre. This volume of plays, translated from the Italian by Mark Musa, opens with Six Characters in Search of an Author, in which six characters invade the stage and demand to be included in the play. The tragedy Henry IV dramatizes the lucid madness of a man who may be King. In So It Is (If You Think So), the townspeople exercise a morbid curiosity attempting to discover “the truth” about the Ponza family. Each of these plays can lay claim to being Pirandello’s masterpiece, and in exploring the nature of human personality, each one stretches the resources of drama to their limits. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,800 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.