The Two of Us: My Life with John Thaw

Sheila Hancock’s moving memoir of her life with husband John Thaw, star of the Inspector Morse series.
In this unique double biography, Sheila Hancock chronicles her life and the life of her husband John Thaw, one of the finest actors of his generation, who was beloved as Inspector Morse in the long-running TV series and who later starred later in life in A Year in Provence. The Two of Us is an utterly compelling portrait of their lives-personal and professional, together and apart-against the rich backdrop of the film and theater worlds of the late twentieth century.
When John Thaw arrived at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art on scholarship, he felt like an outsider. In fact, his timing was perfect: it was the sixties and the arena of television was just opening up. Fame came quickly, but it was John’s role as Morse that made him an icon around the world. In 1974 John married Sheila Hancock, with whom he shared a working-class background and a RADA education. Sheila was already a television star herself and went on to become the first female artistic director at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Theirs was a sometimes turbulent, always passionate relationship, and Sheila describes their lives together, weathering overwork and the pressures of celebrity, drink and cancer, with honesty and piercing intelligence.
The Two of Us is a remarkable book-a biography of a born actor and a tender, often heartbreaking memoir of a marriage. Full of insight and vivid memories, it evokes two lives lived to the utmost.