Rising to the Surface. Lenny Henry (First Edition Hardback) 2022

RISING TO THE SURFACE by Lenny Henry.

THE NATION'S FAVOURITE COMEDIAN opens up about two extraordinary decades at the heart of British comedy.

Rising to promience at the age of sixteen on the back of his success on NEW FACES, Lenny Henry comes of age in an entertainment industry which was, he remembers, 'a reluctant bedfellow at times. Just when you thought you had an equal share of the uvet, suddenly you'd find yourself exposed, cold and shivering, no cover at all.'

He embarks on a period of great creativity: prize-winning TV programmes starring in a Disney film; c-hosting the two Nelson Mandela tribute events.with Whoopi Goldberg and Denzel Washington; following in the footsteps of richard Pryor anf Jerry Seinfeld  doing stand-up gigs in New York; founding Comic Relief with richard curtis; and recording a track with Kate Bush!

But with each rise there is a fall, the most traumatic being the illness of his mother. Though sheer will power, he rises from a sea of troubles - battles with his weight, struggles with keeping his workaholic tendencies in check, the pressures of being almost the only black comedian on British television - and breaks out to the surface as he accepts the Golden Rose of Montreaux for the Best Comedy programme of the year.

Packed with inside stories and wisdom, this is a heartfelt, inspiring and always-hilarious memoir of a true comedy legend.

A FIRST EDITION hardback published in 2022 by Faber & Faber (£20.00 r.r.p.)

Will post via Royal Mail

 

A hardback published in 2014 by John Blake (£17.99 r.r.p.)

Will post via Royal Mail.