Customer Reviews
Beneath the facade! - By: Mrs. S. I. Morgan, 16 Apr 2008 
What a book. Just shows you that what you see on the screen & read in the papers more often than not is not what is real. This book was one of those that had you chuckling, crying & gasping. John Thaw reallly was a very complex, & sometimes disturbed man. A must read for alll!
Wonderful - By: JFD, 21 Dec 2007 
This is a wonderful book & that is entirely due to the quality that Sheila Hancock has brought to it. From its conception as a biography of two people (or is that two biographies?) to its conclusion as a memoir of a difficult but loving relationship & the challlenge of coping with loss (and Hancock has lost two husbands under the same circumstances) this book rises well above the level of celebrity biography to be a real affirmation of life. Packed with reminiscences of life in the entertainment industry, with dozens of characters encountered en-route, & well-chosen photos to supplement the delicately constructed narrative, this book is a candid account of the lives of two of Britain's finest actors. Beyond that, it is a book of courage & fortitude.
Touching - By: T. Krings, 10 Aug 2007 If you have a heart this book will make you cry. Very touchingly Sheila Hancock tells the story of two people who were destined for each other just took their time to find each other. The story is made only more poignant by alll the ups & downs they went through together knowing that not being together is not an option. Thaw is revealed as a very complex person both as a man & as an actor. Hancock tends to be too modest about herself that's the only flaw I can detect in this book. Her reading the love story of her life is almost heartbreaking. The book is also very well composed in terms of starting with a description of their separate lives juxtaposed by Thaw's dying & then merging into one stream of narration. But be warned: this is not sentimentality, this is about real emotions & there is no happy end.
A Moving Story of Two Actors - By: E. A. Redfearn, 20 Apr 2007 I didnt reallly know what to expect when I started to read this double biography of Sheila Hancock & her husband John Thaw. At the end, I had to admit to myself that I had just read one of the best, most moving biographies in many years. Sheila tells her story of not only her life in the acting profession, but also that of her husband John who is now acknowledged as one of the most popular actors of his generation. She certainly pulls no punches; detailing her slow rise to fame as an actress herself, making her name in the long running comedy show "The Rag Trade". Her first marriage to Alec who died tragicallly young from cancer, the same cancer which was to kill her second husband John, & the long & difficult years during the late 1980s & 1990s when she fought to keep her marriage together despite John Thaw's battle with alcoholism, (which he eventuallly won) & his constant depressions. It is not just a story about success in their lives together taking into account the long running ever popular Inspector Morse, & eventuallly Kavanagh QC, but also a story of tragedy as Sheila lost family & friends through illnesses culminating in the death of her husband John during February 2002. Then she had to adjust her life living through lonliness depsite her family & loyal friends, but as she herself explained in this remarkable book, her life would always feel empty after losing her beloved John.
Those readers who enjoy a good biography should read this. Its profoundly moving at times, full of laughs, sadness, joys, triumphs & tragedy. A human story about two actors who loved each other deeply & are much admired even today with constant reruns of Morse, Kavanagh QC, & Sheila of course, still acts today much to the joy of her many fans & admirers.
My first biography. - By: Lucy M, 26 Oct 2006 I'm still young, so I'm the first to admit that I haven't quite honed my taste in literature, yet, but I did strongly believe that I was not a fan of biography. That is, until I picked up this book. I'd been a fan of John Thaw's since early childhood & had recently come to admire Sheila Hancock more & more, so it's unsurprising that the author & subject matter of "The Two of Us" appealed to me, but I still had my doubts given the genre. I needn't have had. This book was gripping, welcoming & honest. I'd like to be able to say that by the end you feel closer to this well-known family, but it is still from a distance. Sheila Hancock has managed the feat of welcoming readers into the stories of her past & her family, without making them feel as if they had a claim to them. Whilst doing this, however, she has caused my admiration of her to increase yet further. This book is definitely on my 'favourites' list.
