Music Hall is probably unknown to a great proportion of the population now, in a country not genuinely interested in its own history. But even for those who don't know what it is, I would heartily recommend Little Tich: Giant of the Music Hall. Not only is it a perfect introduction to the era and subject, but one of the best biographies I have ever read. It is a warm-hearted, humorous and poignant story of a man who suffered a Dickensian childhood and became one of the greatest stars of his day.
He was born with the deformity of six fingers on each hand and never stood taller than 4 ft 6 in. high. The sixteenth child of a 77-year-old Kent farmer, Tich danced for pennies on the bar of his parents' inn from infancy, and was regularly performing from the age of 12. He developed a uniquely droll humour which made him a greatly popular figure on stage in England and France. He proved hugely influential to succeeding generations of comedians including Charlie Chaplin and Jacques Tati.
In reality Tich was a cultured individual who could speak several languages. Twice he was married and twice he was left in an apartment stripped of all its furniture with only a farewell note. His son was a shiftless personality who never found his place in the world. After all his personal troubles Tich finally found the love of a woman who really cared about him, albeit just before his premature death.
The author writes with rare sensitivity with help from the daughter of the man himself. What emerges is a remarkably human portrait of a sadly forgotten talent and a piquant recreation of a time now irretrievably lost to us.
Little Tich: Giant of the Music Hall by Mary Tich and Richard Findlater with Foreword by Jacques Tati (London: Elm Tree Books, 1979)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Little-Tich-Giant-Music-Hall-x/dp/0241101743/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1489418442&sr=8-1&keywords=little+tich
