The Real Mrs. Brown: The Authorised Biography of Brendan O'Carroll - Hardcover

Beacom, Brian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1444754548 ISBN 13: 9781444754544

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton, 2013

Synopsis

Who'd have thought a potty-mouthed Dublin mammy with a cream cardigan and elasticated tan tights could storm British TV screens and leave a nation helpless with laughter? Brendan O'Carroll performs to tens of thousands of people a night in packed-out stadiums across the country. In the last four years Brendan's TV show has become a number 1 ratings success, and he's even making a movie. But Brendan has had to battle hard for success. The youngest of eleven children, his mother was Maureen O'Carroll, a former nun who went on to become the first woman to be elected to the Irish parliament. Brendan adored his strong, widowed mother—and she later became the inspiration for his indomitable character Agnes Brown. However, the family endured poverty reminiscent of Angela's Ashes and Brendan saw no option but to leave school at 12 to work. He married young and for decades struggled to make ends meet. Eventually, bankrupt and desperate, Brendan went to see a fortune teller who told him she could see his future achieving worldwide success as a comedian and actor. At first Brendan laughed at the notion, but then he thought of how much his friends loved his gags, and decided to give it a go. This is the magical story of how a loveable Irishman with a wig and a wit as caustic as battery acid surprised everyone—most of all himself—by becoming one of the best-loved comedians in the world. It is a story of hardship, heartbreak, and talent, and will remind readers afresh that sometimes the facts can be even more extraordinary than the fiction.

About this title

About the Author:

Brian Beacom has been good friends with Brendan O'Carroll for 11 years. He was there when, five years ago in a working men's club in Hull, Brendan was forced to call together his familial co-performers in the comedy troupe "Mrs Brown's Boys" and tell them they were going to have to disband because they couldn't go on performing to ten people a night. A few months later the BBC commissioned the first series of a TV sitcom based on the Dublin mammy and her brood, and the rest will go down in showbiz history as one of the most successful TV comedy creations of the last decade.

Review:

This is the amazing story of the man behind the matriarch * Choice *

About this edition

• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1444754548
• ISBN 13: 9781444754544
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 384