Joyce Grenfell

Joyce Grenfell (1910-1979) was a British institution and one of the country's best-loved entertainers. She achieved success as a writer and performer of songs and monologues on stage and radio at a time when it was unusual for a woman of her background to work at all. Joyce revealed little about her private life in her two autobiographies, and after her death her image was fiercely guarded by her husband and friends, so that she came to be remembered as almost unnaturally perfect. Now, at last, it is possible to show her human failings as well as her humour, kindness and generosity. Janie Hampton explores Joyce's intense relationship with her brother and her mother; her childlessness; her love affair with Prince Aly Khan; her mixed feelings about the theatre; her moving acts of philanthropy and her faith in Christian Science which enabled her to endure the pain of cancer without medical treatment. The result is an affectionate portrait of a unique, complex and lovable person.