13 h 55 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 13 h 55 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What does it cost to make a crowded theatre laugh when every leap wears your body down?
In Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi, a child of London's theatre world learns his trade under a demanding father. Joseph Grimaldi grows into a beloved comic performer, shaping the English pantomime clown through wit, movement and expressive charm. His stage is a place of delight, but also relentless work.
From Sadler's Wells to Drury Lane and Covent Garden, Grimaldi takes you behind the laughter. Long rehearsals, hard bargains with managers and crowded houses fill his working life. Beyond the stage lie financial strain, family loss and pain that applause cannot ease. The contrast gives these recollections their force.
What you’ll discover
- A childhood on stage Meet the demanding father whose skill and severity shape Grimaldi's early life as a performer.
- The clown's demanding craft Discover the physical wit and expressive charm that help Grimaldi reshape English pantomime.
- Behind the theatre doors Step into a working world of rehearsals, managers and audiences eager to laugh.
- The price of laughter See how falls, tumbles and leaps take their toll on the body behind the clown.
- Beyond the painted face Find a life where public affection sits beside private grief, illness and financial uncertainty.
Who will love it
This book suits readers who love theater backstage, Georgian London, true tales of rogues and practical jokes, and warm, funny memoirs by people who lived by their wits.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A child of dancers steps onto the stage
- A strict father and a fortune in a box
- Loss, a lost fortune, and a runaway brother
- Love, a letter, and the burglars of Pentonville
- A purse of gold, a joke on a magistrate, and a wedding
- Grief, new pantomime, and a quarrel with Kemble
- Practical jokes, a leaky theater, and Mother Goose
- Fire alarms, a highwayman, and the Old Price riots
- Star of the provinces, and a costly share in Sadler's Wells
- Pain, a lost son, and a farewell to the stage
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- Hardcover
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Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi
by Joseph Grimaldi · 1838
A clown with a painted grin runs through London streets, a crowd at his heels, to reach his next stage on time.
Medium level10–20 hours to readfrançais
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In short
What does it cost to make a whole nation laugh? Joseph Grimaldi, the most loved clown of the English stage, answers in his own words, and the bill is higher than you might guess.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A child of dancers steps onto the stage
Grimaldi begins with his family. His grandfather was a French dancer nicknamed Iron Legs. His father came from Genoa to England in 1760, but he cared far more for dancing than for court life and soon taught dance and fencing.
Joseph was born on December 18, 1779, in Clare Market, close to the theaters. His father was sixty-five and as odd as a man could be. At one year and eleven months the boy was carried onto the stage of Drury Lane in the pantomime Robinson Crusoe. He played the Little Clown, the audience loved him at once, and he earned fifteen shillings a week.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 9 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1838
- Language
- français
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Grimaldi, Joseph. Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/memoirs-of-joseph-grimaldi.
Grimaldi, J. (2026). Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/memoirs-of-joseph-grimaldi (Original work published 1838)
Grimaldi, Joseph. Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/memoirs-of-joseph-grimaldi.
@book{grimaldi2026memoirs,
author = {Grimaldi, Joseph},
title = {Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/memoirs-of-joseph-grimaldi},
note = {First published 1838}
}
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What is Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi about?
It tells the life of the clown Joseph Grimaldi, from his first stage appearance as a toddler in the 1780s to his retirement and last years. It is full of backstage stories, travels, friendships, jokes, and money troubles.
Who was Joseph Grimaldi?
He was the English pantomime star of the early nineteenth century, the son of an Italian dancer. His clown character, with its painted face, songs, and mischief, became the model for the modern circus clown, and clowns are still called Joey.
Are the stories in the memoirs true?
The book is a memoir, drawn from notes Grimaldi dictated in his last years, with notes from the person who prepared it for print. It names real theaters, people, dates, and sums, and some scenes are marked as told to him by friends.
The author
Joseph Grimaldi
1778–1837 · English clown and actor
Joseph Grimaldi (1778–1837) was an English actor, comedian and dancer who lived and worked in London. He performed clown roles in pantomimes at Sadler’s Wells and Drury Lane. His autobiographical material formed the basis of Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi, edited by Charles Dickens and published in 1838, after Grimaldi’s death.
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