Two of Us [Paperback]

Sheila Hancock (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 6, 2005

When John Thaw, star of The Sweeney and Inspector Morse, died from cancer in 2002, a nation lost one of its finest actors and Sheila Hancock lost a beloved husband. In this unique double biography she chronicles their lives - personal and professional, together and apart. John Thaw was born in Manchester, the son of a lorry driver. When he arrived at RADA on a scholarship he felt an outsider. In fact his timing was perfect: it was the sixties and television was beginning to make its mark. With his roles in Z-Cars and The Sweeney, fame came quickly. But it was John's role as Morse that made him an icon. In 1974 he married Sheila Hancock, with whom he shared a working-class background and a RADA education. Sheila was already the star of the TV series The Rag Trade and went on to become the first woman artistic director at the RSC. Theirs was a sometimes turbulent, always passionate relationship, and in this remarkable book Sheila describes their love - weathering overwork and the pressures of celebrity, drink and cancer - with honesty and piercing intelligence, and evokes two lives lived to the utmost.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'A book of exceptional emotional candour' Sunday Telegraph 'Wise, witty and at times unbearably moving' Glasgow Herald 'Startlingly good ... Hancock is remarkably good at evoking period and place' Sunday Times 'Her honest, graceful account leaves nothing out - Thaw's alcoholism, his depression, their separation, their love' Dublin Sunday Independent

About the Author

Sheila Hancock was born in 1933 and attended RADA before embarking on a successful career in acting, both on stage and screen. She was awarded the OBE in 1974. Sheila Hancock lives in London.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Paperbacks (June 6, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0747577099
• ISBN-13: 978-0747577096
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #883,512 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspector Morse: We Hardly Knew Ye, February 26, 2005

By 

prisrob "pris," (New England USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: The Two of Us: My Life with John Thaw (Hardcover)

Sheila Hancock was married to John Thaw for 28 years. They were wonderful, lovely, sad, dangerous, depressing and glorious years.
She writes in two person of their life together and of their separate lives before they met. Their life together, says Sheila "weathered overwork, pressures of celebrity, drink and cancer, separation and joyful reunions."

I met John Thaw as the indubitable Inspector Morse in the BBC series. What a lovely and wonderful series that was. How were we to know that John was a hopeless alcoholic and depressed person who made himself and his family so unhappy during that time? John's mother left the family when John and his brother were very small. Until late in life, John did not learn to deal with that loss or to realize his alcohol and depression were all a part of this. He was an extremely good looking man and thought of as a superb actor. He led his life as he thought he should, and at a time he realized he needed assistance to survive. He received it and he and Sheila went on to a happy life.

Both John and Sheila had been married before they met. They were meant to be they decided. Sheila's husband died of cancer and John divorced his wife. In time they found each other and got married when Sheila became pregnant. Each of them brought a daughter into their marriage and then they had a daughter from their marriage. Throughout the troubling times they both worked as actors in their chosen profession, and both were successful. Money and material things were bought. Happiness came later when they were able to rid John of his demons, Sheila never give up on John. They were sometimes separated, but their love and common sense kept them together.

Sheila wrote this book, telling of their individual lives and then intertwining the last year of John's life. John Thaw developed esophageal cancer. A terrible cancer with not a good prognosis. He survived chemotherapy and radiation therapy, surgeries and various treatments. he died as he lived, simply, he just stopped breathing. Sheila goes on to tell us of her life without John. How could she survive? We all wonder at these times, but survive she has and has told us a wonderful story of John and their life together. She is a brilliant writer. I have not seen her acting, but imagine if it is as good as her writing it is also brilliant. Highly recommended. prisrob

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Biography of a Legendary Acting Couple!, August 17, 2008

By 

Sylviastel - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Two of Us (Paperback)

Sheila Hancock OBE and John Thaw CBE were one of Britain's most successful acting couples. Sadly, John Thaw died of cancer like Sheila's first husband did so many years ago. As actors, they are both terrific actors. Hancock is still doing the West End theater and film and television. As the surviving spouse, she writes about her partnership with Thaw onstage and offstage. She writes about the love and partnership that these two extraordinary humans were allowed to have despite their hardships. This book is a wonderful testament to their love and their legacy.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing, touching, honest., May 25, 2005

By 

History Man (Potomac, Maryland USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Two of Us: My Life with John Thaw (Hardcover)

Ms. Hancock's account of her marriage to actor John Thaw (Inspector Morse, Kavanagh, etc.) stands well above the typical show-biz memoir. She pulls no punches and relates the ebb and flow of each of their lives as well as their marriage - the highs and lows, the good and bad.

And there was plenty that was bad when Thaw's depression combined with growing alcoholism to try their marriage to its limits. Somehow it survived and one has to conclude it was largely due to Ms. Hancock's perseverance and genuine love for her husband. She stuck with him through the worst of it and helped him find the way out. There is satisfaction in learning that he did recover and that the last years of his life were among their happiest.

The book is organized in an effective way that follows each of them from birth as they enter and succeed on the British stage and later on film and television. Interspersed within these chapters are entries from Ms. Hancock's diary that were written during Thaw's valiant, but sadly losing battle with cancer. The final chapters trace her slow, painful efforts to cope with life on her own, culminating in a fascinating bit of detective work of her own as she searches for the truth about Thaw's mother, who abandoned her children when they were quite young. Ms. Hancock also gives us a wonderful inside view of British show business during the years when both she and Thaw were performers.

This is a sobering, no-nonsense account of two interesting lives spiced with both humor and pathos. It is uplifting and reminds us how different from our images the lives and personalities of actors and other public figures often are.

And if Sheila Hancock reads this, I would differ with her on one point -- John Thaw's work will not be forgotten any time soon.