Mr Foote's Other Leg: Comedy, tragedy and murder in Georgian London - Hardcover

'Kelly's perceptive wit, and interest in his densely theatrical material, makes him an ideal biographer for this pint-size peacock ... Foote's imprint deserved uncovering.' Sunday Telegraph '[In this] uproarious account of Foote's career ... Kelly handles theatrical rumour and apocrypha with great care' Guardian 'Ian Kelly, an actor and writer, has found a perfect subject in this larger-than-life theatrical phenomenon ... [he] is a charming and knowledgeable guide' Literary Review 'Ian Kelly's splendid biography ... [is a] thrilling piece of literary archeology' Scotsman 'I thought this was an exceptionally entertaining book about an extraordinary man. Foote was clearly an extraordinary character even by the standards of Georgian London and one cannot help but feel that if he had not actually existed it would have been necessary to invent him. Kelly gives us a vivid and graphic portrayal of this one-legged satirical genius and the dangerous and compelling world that he inhabited, from the court to debtors' gaol. Highly recommended.' Catharine Arnold, author of Bedlam: London and its Mad 'Dazzling ... Kelly is a master at recreating atmosphere and making the reader feel he is living alongside the book's subject' Daily Express

In 1776 Foote's was the most talked-of name in the English-speaking world. By 1777 it was almost unmentionable. Samuel Foote, friend of David Garrick and Dr Johnson, is the greatest lost figure of the eighteenth century; his story defies belief and has only been forgotten for reasons both laughable and shocking. Foote's rise to fame was based on three unrelated accidents: his extraordinary gifts as an impressionist, a murder within his family which he turned into a true-crime bestseller, and the loss of his leg after a disastrous practical joke. Out of this was born the most singular career in stage history. He flouted convention in transvestite roles, evaded the censors by selling his scurrilous satires as `Tea Parties', wrote a series of plays for one-legged actors - accordingly not much revived - and established London's Theatre Royal, Haymarket. Then came two scandalous trials that rocked Georgian high society. Trials of such magnitude they kept America's Declaration of Independence from the front pages of the London papers. In a unique conflation of biography and social and medical history, award-winning historian Ian Kelly uncovers the hidden world of `the Hogarth of the stage'. From Sheridan to Dickens to Dudley Moore, Foote's influence continues, but Mr Foote's Other Leg is not just a tragicomic tale of this Oscar Wilde of the eighteenth century, it is also the story of the first media storm, the first true-crime bestseller, the first victim of celebrity culture, and a joyous hop around the mad theatre of London life - high and low.