The House That Hugh Laurie Built: An Unauthorized Biography and Episode Guide [Paperback]

Paul Challen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2007

Golden Globe award–winning actor Hugh Laurie and his critically acclaimed television show House are at the heart of this compelling biography. From his childhood struggles to live up to his Olympian father’s accomplishments and his Cambridge education to his comedic career with Emma Thompson and personal struggle with depression, Laurie’s past and present are revealed in illuminating detail. Not just a biography, this is a one-stop shop for all things House that features full episode guides and analyses, actor biographies, interviews with Canadian creator and executive producer David Shore, production bloopers, and medical mistakes that only a sleuth like Dr. House could expose.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An exhaustive guide for fans of the TV show House and its cast."  —The Record

"Tells you everything you ever wanted to know about House and its star."  —The Tampa Tribune

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: ECW Press (November 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155022803X
• ISBN-13: 978-1550228038
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #672,385 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not terribly interesting/Not much of a biography, October 24, 2007

By 

Donna Ball (Marina, CA. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The House That Hugh Laurie Built: An Unauthorized Biography and Episode Guide (Paperback)

This new book is advertised as a biography of Hugh Laurie. It really isn't really much a biography. The book contains just basic thumbnail sketches of ALL the actors in the TV program "HOUSE", including Hugh Laurie. Most of the info written about him is lacking in depth or lengthy research, and almost all of it refers to episodes of British TV programs no American can relate to as we've never seen any of them. I'm a huge fan of HOUSE and the wonderfully gifted actor Hugh Laurie, but this book is not worth the money in my opinion. I know nothing more about him after reading it than I did before reading the book. Everything in the book has been previously written in magazine articles and other mediums. If you'd like a complete episode guide from the first 3 seasons this book is fine, but if you want a biography of Hugh Laurie, wait until a real biography is written at some future date.

36 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not really a Hugh Laurie book, but "House", October 25, 2007

By 

moppie - See all my reviews

This review is from: The House That Hugh Laurie Built: An Unauthorized Biography and Episode Guide (Paperback)

I saw the book at my local Barnes & Nobles bookstore. It's a pretty thick and heavy book, and big. It's not the size of ordinary paperback books.

Unfortunate thing - all is black and white; very very very few pictures, but very very wordy for those that like that kind of thing.

Basically, it gives you a biography of the main characters such as when they were born, how they got started in acting, what they did previously, and how they got the job on House.

After that, the big half of the book is basically a summary of each episode from Seasons 1 - 3 with trivia facts or memorable moments from each episode.

The book is definitely about "House", not Hugh Laurie himeself. Just used his photo and name on the cover.

29 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great introduction to a great show, November 8, 2007

By 

Delia C. Pitts (East Windsor, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The House That Hugh Laurie Built: An Unauthorized Biography and Episode Guide (Paperback)

I got my copy of this book over the weekend and read it all through in one long sitting.

I was disappointed that there were so few pix, however the smoking cover shot of Hugh Laurie is so hot that I have to put the book face down on the side table to avoid incinerating the room!

I definitely enjoyed the detailed episode guide for the first three seasons. Nothing in the author's analysis was really new for those of us who have been dissecting the show for a long time but it was good to see all the cast details, plot overview, major themes, and intriguing mistakes toted up in one convenient place. The writing is not brilliant, but servicable and even amusing on many ocassions.

I was quite struck by the absence of "shipping" in the episode descriptions: the author neutrally notes the passing interest of House in Cameron but sees it as teasing only, he continually picks up on Cuddy's sexy interactions with House beginning with episode 2 of season 1, and he totally skips any hint of House/Wilson.

This is noteworthy because I think this approach represents the way that most casual viewers and serious fans watch the show: strong interest in House as a character of humor, genius, sorrow, and intrigue, little interest in romantic entanglements. The author's insights are balanced, not worshipping House but seeing him as the difficult, tortured, hilarious, enchanting, complex, and discomforting character that he is.

Appropriately, the book devotes four sizeable chapters to Hugh Laurie and one each to the other five actors. All of these essays are syntheses of the articles, interviews, online discussions, and biographical summaries many obsessed fans have been reading since the show began. No new material that I could see, but again, it is quite good to have so much compiled in one convenient place. I was not so familiar with the extensive professional resumes of Omar Epps and Lisa Edelstein, so those chapters were particularly interesting to me.

The chapter on David Shore was good in that it captured information from several Canadian newspaper interviews that offered challenging insights into how the entertainment industry works in North America.

This book was definitely not an expose in any sense of the word: the approach is highly respectful (but not cloyingly worshipful) of Hugh Laurie, his personal life, and his many professional accomplishments.

Overall, I think this would be an excellent gift for someone who is just getting to know the show and wants to catch up quickly on the phenomenon that is Hugh Laurie. I am quite glad that I bought it.