A Tug On The Thread
From the British Raj to the British Stage: A Family Memoir
Published on 3. June 2010
Book
Paperback/Softback
336 pages
978-1-84408-592-7 (ISBN)
Description
Be sure you marry a pure-blooded Englishman.' The memory of this inexplicable command to nine-year-old Diana Quick by her terminally ill grandfather was to remain buried for years. It wasn't until she played Julia Flyte in the celebrated Granada TV dramatisation of Brideshead Revisited that it resurfaced, setting her on a quest to uncover the hidden enigma of her father's family in India.
Gradually Diana unpeeled the layers of family secrets that revealed changed names, the stigma of being 'country born', her grandfather's obsessive ambition for his son. This knowledge helped her both to understand her own heritage and to interpret the roles she played on stage and screen. It also gave her pride in her family's history: the bravery of her great-grandmother who, as a child, narrowly escaped being murdered during the 1857 Indian Mutiny; her father's struggles as a penniless student in a foreign country.
Gradually Diana unpeeled the layers of family secrets that revealed changed names, the stigma of being 'country born', her grandfather's obsessive ambition for his son. This knowledge helped her both to understand her own heritage and to interpret the roles she played on stage and screen. It also gave her pride in her family's history: the bravery of her great-grandmother who, as a child, narrowly escaped being murdered during the 1857 Indian Mutiny; her father's struggles as a penniless student in a foreign country.
Reviews / Votes
Given the plethora of self-serving celebrity memoirs on offer, the lack of ego in her writing is hugely refreshing. Those expecting a tell-all tale of an actor whose consorts include some pretty famous names will, happily, be disappointed. Well able to make judicious use of her experience in both film and theatre to inform the narrative when she chooses, it's to her credit that reticence rules when it comes to matters of her own heart...In disentangling the threads of her own origins she's done a magnificent service to the history of women in India...Quick's painstaking research brilliantly illuminates their hitherto unrecorded plight. A perfect fit for her publishers Virago. Carmen Callil, founder of the imprint who first encouraged her to write, must be very proud indeed. This thoughtful work, a noble endeavour in so many ways, deserves from her audience, a huge round of applause. * Jeanne Crowley, The Irish Times * Fascinating memoir steeped in history...She cleverly combines the story of her acting career with various Indian adventures * Tatler * Richly realised... The book is extremely well ordered, and Quick's writing is as precise, restrained and economical as her acting style * Alfred Hickling, The Guardian * Diana Quick, a highly intelligent actress has written a most original and compelling family memoir which defies categorisation... Quick sets off on a journey to discover her family's beginnings in India, she gives us a plotted, but not superficial, histo * Jonathan Cecil, The Daily Mail *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Little, Brown Book Group
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Illustrations
Section: 16, b/w photos
Dimensions
Height: 130 mm
Width: 201 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
302 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84408-592-7 (9781844085927)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
06/2009
Virago Press Ltd
€3.99
Available for download
Previous edition
Book
05/2009
Virago Press Ltd
€42.27
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Diana Quick was born in Kent, and while at Oxford became the first female president of the Oxford University Dramatic Society. Her career, since her professional debut in 1967, has spanned television, film, theatre and radio.