Dead Famous: An Unexpected History of Celebrity from Bronze Age to Silver Screen
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- Author：Greg Jenner
- ISBN：1780225660
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Summary
Celebrity， with its neon glow and selfie pout， strikes us as hypermodern。 But the famous and infamous have been thrilling， titillating， and outraging us for much longer than we might realise。 Whether it was the scandalous Lord Byron， whose poetry sent female fans into an erotic frenzy; or the cheetah-owning， coffin-sleeping， one-legged French actress Sarah Bernhardt， who launched a violent feud with her former best friend; or Edmund Kean， the dazzling Shakespearean actor whose monstrous ego and terrible alcoholism saw him nearly murdered by his own audience - the list of stars whose careers burned bright before the Age of Television is extensive and thrillingly varied。
Celebrities could be heroes or villains; warriors or murderers; brilliant talents， or fraudsters with a flair for fibbing; trendsetters， wilful provocateurs， or tragic victims marketed as freaks of nature。 Some craved fame while others had it forced upon them。 A few found fame as small children， some had to wait decades to get their break。 But uniting them all is the shared origin point: since the early 1700s， celebrity has been one of the most emphatic driving forces in popular culture; it is a lurid cousin to Ancient Greek ideas of glorious and notorious reputation， and its emergence helped to shape public attitudes to ethics， national identity， religious faith， wealth， sexuality， and gender roles。
In this ambitious history， that spans the Bronze Age to the coming of Hollywood's Golden Age， Greg Jenner assembles a vibrant cast of over 125 actors， singers， dancers， sportspeople， freaks， demigods， ruffians， and more， in search of celebrity's historical roots。 He reveals why celebrity burst into life in the early eighteenth century， how it differs to ancient ideas of fame， the techniques through which it was acquired， how it was maintained， the effect it had on public tastes， and the psychological burden stardom could place on those in the glaring limelight。 DEAD FAMOUS is a surprising， funny， and fascinating exploration of both a bygone age and how we came to inhabit our modern， fame obsessed society。
Celebrities could be heroes or villains; warriors or murderers; brilliant talents， or fraudsters with a flair for fibbing; trendsetters， wilful provocateurs， or tragic victims marketed as freaks of nature。 Some craved fame while others had it forced upon them。 A few found fame as small children， some had to wait decades to get their break。 But uniting them all is the shared origin point: since the early 1700s， celebrity has been one of the most emphatic driving forces in popular culture; it is a lurid cousin to Ancient Greek ideas of glorious and notorious reputation， and its emergence helped to shape public attitudes to ethics， national identity， religious faith， wealth， sexuality， and gender roles。
In this ambitious history， that spans the Bronze Age to the coming of Hollywood's Golden Age， Greg Jenner assembles a vibrant cast of over 125 actors， singers， dancers， sportspeople， freaks， demigods， ruffians， and more， in search of celebrity's historical roots。 He reveals why celebrity burst into life in the early eighteenth century， how it differs to ancient ideas of fame， the techniques through which it was acquired， how it was maintained， the effect it had on public tastes， and the psychological burden stardom could place on those in the glaring limelight。 DEAD FAMOUS is a surprising， funny， and fascinating exploration of both a bygone age and how we came to inhabit our modern， fame obsessed society。
Reviews
mimo
，
As a kid， I read the Horrible Histories books （on which Greg Jenner was a consultant）， and as an adult， I've recently been listening to the podcast You're Dead To Me （which Greg Jenner presents）。 So I'm familiar with his work and went in with high hopes。 After devouring this book in about a day， I can happily report that those hopes have been met and exceeded。 Jenner hits his usual balance between nerdy and accessible， between critical and （com）passionate。 The latter might require some elaborati As a kid， I read the Horrible Histories books （on which Greg Jenner was a consultant）， and as an adult， I've recently been listening to the podcast You're Dead To Me （which Greg Jenner presents）。 So I'm familiar with his work and went in with high hopes。 After devouring this book in about a day， I can happily report that those hopes have been met and exceeded。 Jenner hits his usual balance between nerdy and accessible， between critical and （com）passionate。 The latter might require some elaboration。 I'm referring to how he delves into the history， significance and experience of celebrity in a way that makes you alternately （sometimes simultaneously） amused and horrified and fascinated。 He pays attention to factors like gender， race and class; he examines celebrity in different dimensions in each chapter， bringing to life people the reader may or may not have even heard of before， and making you invested in their story。 In my thoroughly uneducated view， I think some of the best popular history writing gets at the heart of how people lived and live - in this case， what drives celebrities and fans - and this book does a bang-up job of that。 。。。more
Dylan Moore
，
I liked it。 It was funny， accessible， and overall a fun read。 The only thing I would note is that I don't remember a lot of the examples used， which is something I saw other people note， but that doesn't bother me much。 I liked it。 It was funny， accessible， and overall a fun read。 The only thing I would note is that I don't remember a lot of the examples used， which is something I saw other people note， but that doesn't bother me much。 。。。more
Lauren Lewsley
，
I absolutely loved this book！ Greg Jenner takes the reader through the history of celebrities， an often amusing and always dramatic whistle stop tour of fame and its effects。This has been my first time reading anything by Greg Jenner and I have been absolutely blown away。
Kieran
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Hugely enjoyable gallop through a history of celebrity culture of the last 300（ish） years。
Jane
，
It was funny and I wanted something light but ultimately not compelling enough to finish。 Abandoned。
mellamy
，
a really fascinating presentation on historical celebrities and how the concept has evolved over the centuries！ really well researched， explained and organised。 although the analytical bits weren’t quite few and far between， i would have appreciated more of them as they were fantastic ways to tie all the information on people and events together especially across time periods。
Jason
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We think of celebrities as a modern phenomena， but you can trace the earliest proper celebrities back to the 1700s according to this。 It's a nice enough read， full of interesting and downright crazy tales and anecdotes of what celebrity life from the eighteenth century to early twentieth century looked like。The only problem I had with it is that it's written in the style of a hipster trying desperately to explain things without sounding too much like an academic。 Reading it is a bit like getting We think of celebrities as a modern phenomena， but you can trace the earliest proper celebrities back to the 1700s according to this。 It's a nice enough read， full of interesting and downright crazy tales and anecdotes of what celebrity life from the eighteenth century to early twentieth century looked like。The only problem I had with it is that it's written in the style of a hipster trying desperately to explain things without sounding too much like an academic。 Reading it is a bit like getting stuck in a conversation with a guy at the pub who thinks he's your mate but you really just let him tag along out of pity。 。。。more
Gabi Leoncini
，
Just about ？I feel bad giving this a lower rating because I'm in a reading slump。。。 I found parts of this considerably more interesting than others & did learn quite a bit， but overall it wasn't an absolute fave。 Just about ？I feel bad giving this a lower rating because I'm in a reading slump。。。 I found parts of this considerably more interesting than others & did learn quite a bit， but overall it wasn't an absolute fave。 。。。more
Amy
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4。5 STARSA breath of fresh air， and really interesting - a good selection of well-known and the new （to me） celebrities， with a witty， irreverent voice that makes all the difference。 Good readalike for fans of Lucy Worsley， Horrible Histories， and Karolina Zebrowska。
Caroline
，
This book was well- written， interesting and amusing。 However， my expectations were obviously at odd with the actual material！ I thought it would be a book of mini biographies in chronological order， but what I got was a book more about the theory of celebrity - image， fame， self- promotion etc， with historical anecdotes spotted throughout and individuals referred to to highlight a point。 This is obviously more to do with my expectations， but it did dull my enjoyment of it。
Giovanna Gabriel
，
I loved this book， that's it！Viu como eu sou muito profissional escrevendo em inglês 🤠👢 I loved this book， that's it！Viu como eu sou muito profissional escrevendo em inglês 🤠👢 。。。more
Teresa
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This was sometimes quite interesting， other times really boring。 I found myself skimming pretty much the entire last chapters， so yeah， do with that what you will。
Nikolah Ibbetson
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Finally finished this book！ It has taken some time and perseverance， I don’t usually read factual books but after listening to Greg Jenner talk about this at Hay last year， it intrigued and inspired me…。。 Well I can say the first couple of chapters I found very difficult not quite what I expected， I struggled with the style of writing， I can imagine as a podcast it would be great。 The later chapters about interesting celebrities of different types and reasons where funny and interesting and was Finally finished this book！ It has taken some time and perseverance， I don’t usually read factual books but after listening to Greg Jenner talk about this at Hay last year， it intrigued and inspired me…。。 Well I can say the first couple of chapters I found very difficult not quite what I expected， I struggled with the style of writing， I can imagine as a podcast it would be great。 The later chapters about interesting celebrities of different types and reasons where funny and interesting and was what I was expecting。It was an interesting read for me and a learning curve。 Interesting points and makes you think of celebrity and how it has come about and why。 I did enjoy it but I think I will go back to fiction for a bit！ 。。。more
Dan Seitz
，
Greg Jenner takes an amusing， if a bit scattershot， approach to discussing the history of celebrity and how it differs from fame， notoriety， and so on。 The main issue I had is that Jenner never runs with his case studies， instead trying to tie his arguments around different themes in the chapters， which makes the book a bit more of an uphill climb than a snarky history really should be。 That he sometimes footnotes with trivia and sometimes jokes doesn't help， making the tone uneven。 Nonetheless Greg Jenner takes an amusing， if a bit scattershot， approach to discussing the history of celebrity and how it differs from fame， notoriety， and so on。 The main issue I had is that Jenner never runs with his case studies， instead trying to tie his arguments around different themes in the chapters， which makes the book a bit more of an uphill climb than a snarky history really should be。 That he sometimes footnotes with trivia and sometimes jokes doesn't help， making the tone uneven。 Nonetheless a lot of fun and informative。 。。。more
Selin Apaydin
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ugh this seemed really interesting but if i wanted anecdotes about like 10 celebrities from the 18th to 20th centuries i could have just looked up an askreddit thread or something。
Lacey
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I really struggle with rating this book。 It's entertaining。 It's thoroughly researched。 The subject matter is fascinating。 That said， I didn't love it。For me， this book reads less like a standalone work and more like a collection of irreverent synopses of biographies I might like to read some day。 Also， despite its informal， conversational narration， it felt strangely academic -- the best I can describe it is to imagine a doctoral thesis that's been run through an internet meme filter。 The sheer I really struggle with rating this book。 It's entertaining。 It's thoroughly researched。 The subject matter is fascinating。 That said， I didn't love it。For me， this book reads less like a standalone work and more like a collection of irreverent synopses of biographies I might like to read some day。 Also， despite its informal， conversational narration， it felt strangely academic -- the best I can describe it is to imagine a doctoral thesis that's been run through an internet meme filter。 The sheer number of personalities included meant that I never truly connected with any of them。 Just as I would start getting into the story of one， the author would switch over to another， which made it difficult for me to retain all of the names and stories from chapter to chapter， and even within the same chapter。On a positive note， this book did introduce me to some previously-unknown-to-me crazy characters whose lives I would like to delve more into in the future。 I'd actually recommend it *as a resource* to others who enjoy historical biographies， as the footnotes and bibliography contain a treasure trove of reading material。 As an independent work， however， I just have to say "It was just okay"。 。。。more
Molly K
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3。5 stars。 This was a really interesting read。The writing style will give you whiplash at first - transcending literal centuries in paragraphs， but it works。Jenner offers a historical account of ‘celebrity’- what it means to be one， how its definition has varied over time。 The alternatives to being one whilst still being well-known， etc。It was a well-researched book， with multiple examples ranging from the well known （Lord Byron）， to child stars （Shirley temple）， to the down right bizarre （the C 3。5 stars。 This was a really interesting read。The writing style will give you whiplash at first - transcending literal centuries in paragraphs， but it works。Jenner offers a historical account of ‘celebrity’- what it means to be one， how its definition has varied over time。 The alternatives to being one whilst still being well-known， etc。It was a well-researched book， with multiple examples ranging from the well known （Lord Byron）， to child stars （Shirley temple）， to the down right bizarre （the Castratos - the way Italian men expanded their vocal range）。Really interesting 。。。more
N
，
I started out really， really enjoying Dead Famous and then ended up DNF'ing it。 Let's unpick that transition。Greg Jenner makes for a fun narrator， both in book and audio form。 I would 100% go to the pub and chat about history with Greg Jenner。 Dead Famous is also extremely accessible: it will probably be picked up by a lot of people who've never read any history books before。 And hey， maybe it will serve as a gateway into other， better history books？ Let's hope so。The problem is that it's very， I started out really， really enjoying Dead Famous and then ended up DNF'ing it。 Let's unpick that transition。Greg Jenner makes for a fun narrator， both in book and audio form。 I would 100% go to the pub and chat about history with Greg Jenner。 Dead Famous is also extremely accessible: it will probably be picked up by a lot of people who've never read any history books before。 And hey， maybe it will serve as a gateway into other， better history books？ Let's hope so。The problem is that it's very， very slight。 Not in length （it's actually overlong）， but in substance。 It purports to track the history of 'celebrity'， but ultimately turns into a laundry list of people who were sorta-famous in various ways。 We get thumbnail sketches of these people， but never enough to sink our teeth into them。 At best， this book serves as a reference guide for interesting people you may want to go away and research on your own。The 'who cares？' factor is also strong in Dead Famous。 I say this as someone who has been addicted to sleb gossip for a lot of my life。 Even still， WHO CARES about tortured categorisations of 'famous' vs 'renowned' vs 'celebrity'？I ultimately gave up on Dead Famous when it occurred to me to compare it to Joshua Zeitz's Flapper。 They're similar in that they're both easy-reads that dart around， spotlighting interesting people。 But Flapper is meaty。 It feels like more than a sum of its parts。 Whereas Dead Famous feels much， much less than a sum of its parts。Not to be flip， but: it's hard to write a good book。 You need more than just a personality and a library card。 。。。more
Hell
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4。5 stars。As someone who has no prior knowledge about the subject of this book， it was fascinating。Learning about famous names I otherwise wouldn't have ever known and getting some facts about names I am familiar with was quite fun。It was interesting seeing where certain trends from within our culture today potentially started。There were bits of humour throughout and passages were quick and easy to read。All in all， I'd say it's worth checking out if you want a little bit of celebrity history and 4。5 stars。As someone who has no prior knowledge about the subject of this book， it was fascinating。Learning about famous names I otherwise wouldn't have ever known and getting some facts about names I am familiar with was quite fun。It was interesting seeing where certain trends from within our culture today potentially started。There were bits of humour throughout and passages were quick and easy to read。All in all， I'd say it's worth checking out if you want a little bit of celebrity history and where the ideas of things came from。Now I shall go on to read an Oscar Wilde book， someone who happens to get quite a few mentions in this very book。 。。。more
Fedezux
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Saggio frizzantino e stimolante che indaga il concetto di celebrità。Le storie e le riflessioni proposte dell'autore sono interessanti e il suo stile di scrittura è acuto e molto divertente。Detto ciò， alla lunga è diventato un tantino ripetitivo e questo non mi ha permesso di godermi fino in fondo lettura。Carino， ma non un must。 Saggio frizzantino e stimolante che indaga il concetto di celebrità。Le storie e le riflessioni proposte dell'autore sono interessanti e il suo stile di scrittura è acuto e molto divertente。Detto ciò， alla lunga è diventato un tantino ripetitivo e questo non mi ha permesso di godermi fino in fondo lettura。Carino， ma non un must。 。。。more
Sharondblk
，
It wasn't bad。 Greg Jenner is a pleasant author and a lovely narrator。 The problem was I couldn't work out why he has chosen these particular celebrities to illustrate his point - which I think is that there is nothing new in celebrity。 It was a pleasant thing to have going in the background， but was somewhat too unfocussed for my taste。 It wasn't bad。 Greg Jenner is a pleasant author and a lovely narrator。 The problem was I couldn't work out why he has chosen these particular celebrities to illustrate his point - which I think is that there is nothing new in celebrity。 It was a pleasant thing to have going in the background， but was somewhat too unfocussed for my taste。 。。。more
Adelle
，
Fascinating。 If you even think you have an inkling of an interest in this， give it a shot。 It's excellently put together。 Fascinating。 If you even think you have an inkling of an interest in this， give it a shot。 It's excellently put together。 。。。more
Rachel
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the nail in the coffin for me was the phrase "Donald Trump's untanned buttocks"。。。this book is REALLY well researched and I respect that completely！ I just couldn't focus on the hundreds of case studies of celebrity and non-celebrity we were introduced to。I'm sure others would respond well to this book， but alas I didn't。 the nail in the coffin for me was the phrase "Donald Trump's untanned buttocks"。。。this book is REALLY well researched and I respect that completely！ I just couldn't focus on the hundreds of case studies of celebrity and non-celebrity we were introduced to。I'm sure others would respond well to this book， but alas I didn't。 。。。more
Simon Dobson
，
A romp through what it means to be famous。 And indeed what "famous" means， which is actually a more nuanced question than it might first appear。 Are "influencers" famous？ – not according to Jenner， and it seems a slightly arbitrary distinction。 When did fame begin？ – one has to start somewhere， so the start of newspapers seems sensible but excludes some who might otherwise be in consideration。 Nonetheless there are some excellent vignettes on what it means to achieve fame， and the consequences w A romp through what it means to be famous。 And indeed what "famous" means， which is actually a more nuanced question than it might first appear。 Are "influencers" famous？ – not according to Jenner， and it seems a slightly arbitrary distinction。 When did fame begin？ – one has to start somewhere， so the start of newspapers seems sensible but excludes some who might otherwise be in consideration。 Nonetheless there are some excellent vignettes on what it means to achieve fame， and the consequences when one has done so， enough （ suspect to kill-off many people's latent desire for celebrity。 。。。more
July
，
A very interesting read for everyone with a healthy interest in celebrity and history （especially the last 350 or so years）。 I was a bit disappointed at first to note that this mostly covered famous people from the early 1700s onwards， but Jenner made some compelling arguments for his choice and did delve a bit into famous people of the ancient times， so he mostly made up for that。 Overall this book offered a fascinating analysis of celebrity and what it entails - it did get a bit dry at times （ A very interesting read for everyone with a healthy interest in celebrity and history （especially the last 350 or so years）。 I was a bit disappointed at first to note that this mostly covered famous people from the early 1700s onwards， but Jenner made some compelling arguments for his choice and did delve a bit into famous people of the ancient times， so he mostly made up for that。 Overall this book offered a fascinating analysis of celebrity and what it entails - it did get a bit dry at times （although Jenner mostly balanced it out with his humorous commentary） and I more often than not entirely forgot what exactly had been the point of the chapter I was reading， which points to a somewhat weak leitmotif for most of them （it also didn't help that quite a few of the concepts Jenner talked about overlapped）。 The structure also allowed for him to cover a wider range of celebrities by spreading and sprinkling them throughout the entire book and only seldom focusing on a particular one。 I was worried that this would be confusing and in the end I wouldn't be able to connect all the interesting tidbits to the correct people， but Jenner did a marvelous job at contextualising the celebs and reminding you ever so often who exactly he was talking about。 I was honestly surprised by how many celebrities I'd never heard of （excepting the big ones like Byron， Nightingale and so on）， but also delighted to learn all about them。 I might've found some new historical favorites and I'll definitely be using the recommended reading at the end of the book for further research。 In general I can only commend Jenner for his very accessible and entertaining style of writing， which made this book an especially fun romp through the history of celebrity。 。。。more
Elliot Huxtable
，
Supremely compelling
Ruby Granger
，
I absolutely LOVED this。 As with his A Million Years in a Day， Jenner offers an accessible， funny and well-researched book。 I loved the niche little details and super-specific examples （e。g。 Nell Gwynn， who I'd never heard of！） -- and how these were compared to better-known celebrities who all of us know （Byron， Wilde， Dickens， Bowie etc。）。 The book wasn't chronological which I also really liked。 It means that the book can explore broader themes， as opposed to just providing an overview。 One thi I absolutely LOVED this。 As with his A Million Years in a Day， Jenner offers an accessible， funny and well-researched book。 I loved the niche little details and super-specific examples （e。g。 Nell Gwynn， who I'd never heard of！） -- and how these were compared to better-known celebrities who all of us know （Byron， Wilde， Dickens， Bowie etc。）。 The book wasn't chronological which I also really liked。 It means that the book can explore broader themes， as opposed to just providing an overview。 One thing just to note is that there isn't as much on influencer culture as I was expecting from the title。 It wasn't really mentioned until the last ten pages （but this final section was still really interesting）。 。。。more
Holly
，
I was looking forward to reading this as a long-time fan of Horrible Histories and a devoted listener to You're Dead to Me and Homeschool History。 I did enjoy it a lot， although there were a couple of points that marked it down for me a little。 Jenner has had to make a choice about how to lay the book out， and has gone for a style that flits thematically from time to time and celebrity to celebrity。 I see why this works （and it definitely does） but it sometimes meant I lost the thread when it wa I was looking forward to reading this as a long-time fan of Horrible Histories and a devoted listener to You're Dead to Me and Homeschool History。 I did enjoy it a lot， although there were a couple of points that marked it down for me a little。 Jenner has had to make a choice about how to lay the book out， and has gone for a style that flits thematically from time to time and celebrity to celebrity。 I see why this works （and it definitely does） but it sometimes meant I lost the thread when it was 3 or 4 celebrities deep into a train of thought。 Also， I felt like I'd heard some of the stories before because of being so familiar with Jenner's podcasts。 I would have loved to get more detail on some of the lives in this book， although the book would have been absolutely massive if he'd put it all in there。 I see this as a good starting point from which to explore the histories of a few of the celebrities mentioned in more detail。 Otherwise， an easy read with characteristic wit and insight。 。。。more
Billie Holland
，
Very entertaining popular history。 Definitely enjoyed it; and I loved Greg Jenner’s writing style， but I think I went in expecting something different。 Any books that mentions Byron this much is an automatic Good Book in my eyes tho x
Siria
，