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Dead Famous: An Unexpected History of Celebrity from Bronze Age to Silver Screen
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Best History & Biography (2020)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.
416 pages, Paperback
First published March 19, 2020
About the author
Greg Jenner
8 books362 followersGreg Jenner (FRHistS) is a British public historian, broadcaster, and author noted for using humour and pop culture to communicate the complexities of the past. He is the host of the chart-topping BBC comedy podcast YOU'RE DEAD TO ME
Greg is the author of three books:
- ASK A HISTORIAN: 50 SURPRISING ANSWERS TO THINGS YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW (2021)
- DEAD FAMOUS: AN UNEXPECTED HISTORY OF CELEBRITY, FROM BRONZE AGE TO SILVER SCREEN (2020)
- A MILLION YEARS IN A DAY: A CURIOUS HISTORY OF DAILY LIFE, FROM STONE AGE TO PHONE AGE (2015)
He is also the Historical Consultant to BBC's Emmy and multi-BAFTA award-winning comedy sketch-show HORRIBLE HISTORIES, being solely responsible for the factual accuracy of over 2,000 sketches and 150 comedy songs. He also worked on HORRIBLE HISTORIES: THE MOVIE - ROTTEN ROMANS.
As a broadcaster, Greg is the host of the chart-topping BBC comedy podcast YOU'RE DEAD TO ME in which comedians and academic historians are paired up to explore different historical subjects with a bold blend of humour and nuanced detail. The series regularly tops the Apple podcast charts, and was the number 1 show on BBC Sounds in 2021.
Greg is also a regular voice on BBC Radio 4, and was resident historian on the science and history series THE ORIGIN OF STUFF, hosted by Katy Brand. In 2019 he wrote and presented a 3 hour radio documentary about historical comedy for BBC Radio 4 Extra called HILARIOUS HISTORIES in which he interviewed Stephen Fry and several other guests. He's made numerous other appearances on British national radio, TV, podcasts, and has written in numerous newspapers and magazines.
On TV, he co-hosted BBC2's INSIDE VERSAILLES discussion programme for two series, and was one of the expert panellists on BBC2's THE GREAT HISTORY QUIZ (broadcast on Christmas Eve 2015), joining team captains Lucy Worsley and Dan Snow.
Greg is both a passionate defender and careful critic of the way in which the past is exploited for entertainment. He is an Honorary Research Associate at Royal Holloway, University of London where he teaches on the Public History MA course. He also teaches occasionally at his alma mater, the University of York, where he studied for 4 years before abandoning plans for a PhD to instead go into the TV industry.
Greg is an avid Twitter user and his handle is @greg_jenner.
Greg is the author of three books:
- ASK A HISTORIAN: 50 SURPRISING ANSWERS TO THINGS YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW (2021)
- DEAD FAMOUS: AN UNEXPECTED HISTORY OF CELEBRITY, FROM BRONZE AGE TO SILVER SCREEN (2020)
- A MILLION YEARS IN A DAY: A CURIOUS HISTORY OF DAILY LIFE, FROM STONE AGE TO PHONE AGE (2015)
He is also the Historical Consultant to BBC's Emmy and multi-BAFTA award-winning comedy sketch-show HORRIBLE HISTORIES, being solely responsible for the factual accuracy of over 2,000 sketches and 150 comedy songs. He also worked on HORRIBLE HISTORIES: THE MOVIE - ROTTEN ROMANS.
As a broadcaster, Greg is the host of the chart-topping BBC comedy podcast YOU'RE DEAD TO ME in which comedians and academic historians are paired up to explore different historical subjects with a bold blend of humour and nuanced detail. The series regularly tops the Apple podcast charts, and was the number 1 show on BBC Sounds in 2021.
Greg is also a regular voice on BBC Radio 4, and was resident historian on the science and history series THE ORIGIN OF STUFF, hosted by Katy Brand. In 2019 he wrote and presented a 3 hour radio documentary about historical comedy for BBC Radio 4 Extra called HILARIOUS HISTORIES in which he interviewed Stephen Fry and several other guests. He's made numerous other appearances on British national radio, TV, podcasts, and has written in numerous newspapers and magazines.
On TV, he co-hosted BBC2's INSIDE VERSAILLES discussion programme for two series, and was one of the expert panellists on BBC2's THE GREAT HISTORY QUIZ (broadcast on Christmas Eve 2015), joining team captains Lucy Worsley and Dan Snow.
Greg is both a passionate defender and careful critic of the way in which the past is exploited for entertainment. He is an Honorary Research Associate at Royal Holloway, University of London where he teaches on the Public History MA course. He also teaches occasionally at his alma mater, the University of York, where he studied for 4 years before abandoning plans for a PhD to instead go into the TV industry.
Greg is an avid Twitter user and his handle is @greg_jenner.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 363 reviews
April 9, 2021
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).
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).
June 23, 2020
I started this book with high expectations, having listened to the author talking about it at the Hay Festival online. I like historical biographies, and was looking forward to learning more about those people who I had previously been unaware of. However, I found it disconcerting that, instead of a potted biography of each famous character, there would be multiple references to each person throughout the book to illustrate different points about the nature of celebrity. This, added to the breathless style in which the book was written, meant that I kept losing concentration and eventually gave up without finishing it.
It may be partly a reflection on these uncertain times that at the moment I need a traditional book structure in order to concentrate on the contents, so I will probably try this book again at a later date.
It may be partly a reflection on these uncertain times that at the moment I need a traditional book structure in order to concentrate on the contents, so I will probably try this book again at a later date.
June 14, 2020
Entertaining as ever from Greg Jenner, but evaluative and educational too. Review to come.
March 26, 2020
History: tick
Puns: tick
References Lord Byron and Nell Gwyn: tick (okay this is more of a niche thing, I just enjoy reading about them)
Facts that you will definitely be telling everyone: tick (Gorbachev was in a Pizza Hut advert, please YouTube it)
This book had a 99% chance success rate with me before I even got to rip open the box it came in, maybe that’s unfair to the book but rest assured I was 100% right. Jenner has such a joyful way with words. He is witty, hugely intelligent, an excellent writer and an all round cool guy (if you didn’t know he is the historical consultant to horrible histories, so if you know me you also knew that was another tick for me).
Celebrity/fame etc is such an interesting topic to read about. From Clara the Rhino (a literal rhino) to Dr Henry Sacheverell a churchman (arguably the first celebrity) to the more obvious celebrity names like Rita Hayworth and Shirley Temple, you’re sure to find an interesting person (and animal, sorry Clara) and discussion on the varieties of fame and what it meant then and how’s that developed.
As readers we often big up our favourite authors and that’s not new. Whilst perhaps more people shout about their favourite singers and movie stars in today’s society, the concept of championing someone we enjoy and admire has been around for centuries. We go to gigs, we travel to authors homes (the ones you’re allowed to, please don’t take what I said as a blanket invitation to just knock on their doors), we wait backstage to get autographs or even order signed merchandise online. Lots of things have changed but the public’s obsession with the famous, those people who seemingly have completely different lives to us isn’t new and it’s a fascinating subject to learn about.
I bloody loved it, incase you couldn’t tell.
Puns: tick
References Lord Byron and Nell Gwyn: tick (okay this is more of a niche thing, I just enjoy reading about them)
Facts that you will definitely be telling everyone: tick (Gorbachev was in a Pizza Hut advert, please YouTube it)
This book had a 99% chance success rate with me before I even got to rip open the box it came in, maybe that’s unfair to the book but rest assured I was 100% right. Jenner has such a joyful way with words. He is witty, hugely intelligent, an excellent writer and an all round cool guy (if you didn’t know he is the historical consultant to horrible histories, so if you know me you also knew that was another tick for me).
Celebrity/fame etc is such an interesting topic to read about. From Clara the Rhino (a literal rhino) to Dr Henry Sacheverell a churchman (arguably the first celebrity) to the more obvious celebrity names like Rita Hayworth and Shirley Temple, you’re sure to find an interesting person (and animal, sorry Clara) and discussion on the varieties of fame and what it meant then and how’s that developed.
As readers we often big up our favourite authors and that’s not new. Whilst perhaps more people shout about their favourite singers and movie stars in today’s society, the concept of championing someone we enjoy and admire has been around for centuries. We go to gigs, we travel to authors homes (the ones you’re allowed to, please don’t take what I said as a blanket invitation to just knock on their doors), we wait backstage to get autographs or even order signed merchandise online. Lots of things have changed but the public’s obsession with the famous, those people who seemingly have completely different lives to us isn’t new and it’s a fascinating subject to learn about.
I bloody loved it, incase you couldn’t tell.
Read
May 3, 2021I 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.
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.
June 30, 2020
Ok, OK, I heard him speak about this and thought "sounds a hoot." It wasn't. It boasts 125 celebrities- so each one gets less than 3 pages and as there is 5 chit-chat words to one factional word it neither satisfied nor entertained.
March 23, 2021
Dead Famous: An Unexpected History of Celebrity from Bronze Age to Silver Screen, despite its subtitle, focuses mostly on the period between the early 18th century and the 1950s (and within that, largely people from the UK and US). Greg Jenner argues that celebrity as we think of it today first emerges in the early decades of the eighteenth century, enabled by various technological and societal factors, and that it's distinguished from fame or renown by its focus on the personality/private life of the celebrity and on the kind of economic infrastructure that grows up around them.
Jenner focuses mostly on thematic explorations of different aspects of celebrity, which means that he generally provides snippets of information about various historical figures rather than potted biographies (although he circles back to the same people a couple of times). This allows him to cover a broad array of weird, wonderful, and occasionally upsetting tales from the world of historical celebrity. Jenner accompanies these with a lot of patter and puns—often too many, for my taste, especially since he shades a bit into the Cheeky British Chappy Banter kind of shtick that's not to my taste, and it sits uneasily aside some occasionally rather clunky prose.
A fun, quick read that does better than most pop histories at conveying insights gleaned from academic studies to a popular audience, but not perhaps one that will linger with me.
Jenner focuses mostly on thematic explorations of different aspects of celebrity, which means that he generally provides snippets of information about various historical figures rather than potted biographies (although he circles back to the same people a couple of times). This allows him to cover a broad array of weird, wonderful, and occasionally upsetting tales from the world of historical celebrity. Jenner accompanies these with a lot of patter and puns—often too many, for my taste, especially since he shades a bit into the Cheeky British Chappy Banter kind of shtick that's not to my taste, and it sits uneasily aside some occasionally rather clunky prose.
A fun, quick read that does better than most pop histories at conveying insights gleaned from academic studies to a popular audience, but not perhaps one that will linger with me.
March 25, 2020
This is a really fun history book, sure to please readers of all types. Greg Jenner has the charismatic quality of a really dear freind telling an incredibly entertaining story about a subject you know they're reliable on.
It's a book dripping with wit. Even the most straightforward sentences have an air of humor about them, as if we're just caught up in the merriment of reading Jenner's various anecdotes and tidbits.
It's a book fit to burst with delightful information. Very enjoyable, definately check it out for yourself!
It's a book dripping with wit. Even the most straightforward sentences have an air of humor about them, as if we're just caught up in the merriment of reading Jenner's various anecdotes and tidbits.
It's a book fit to burst with delightful information. Very enjoyable, definately check it out for yourself!
April 17, 2022
Though I have a lot of respect for the author in trying to address a slightly difficult to pin down subject, and as much as I have to appreciate the level of research which must've been done, I think I'd give this three and a half out of five because of the problems I had with the execution.
Jenner aims to define celebrity (and delineate it from fame, acclaim, renown) and discuss its origins, its different types, and explore the phenomenon. Though the latter two of these are explored in a great deal of detail, with plenty of examples and in an intelligent and balanced manner, I thought the author failed to come up with a full and all-encompassing definition of celebrity. The more examples (of what the author considered 'in' and 'out' of this group) given, the more confused I got. The book was flawed because of this, for all that it was full of interesting bits and bobs.
I also found the style grated at times. The majority of the book was sound historical content, but the author seemed to lack confidence in this, and to pepper the text with a generous smattering of amusing footnotes and twee pop culture references. It's almost as if he thought the reader wouldn't remain interested in a normal non-fiction book. Some of the 'funny' stuff landed, but quite a lot didn't and felt a bit tiresome and odd.
Jenner aims to define celebrity (and delineate it from fame, acclaim, renown) and discuss its origins, its different types, and explore the phenomenon. Though the latter two of these are explored in a great deal of detail, with plenty of examples and in an intelligent and balanced manner, I thought the author failed to come up with a full and all-encompassing definition of celebrity. The more examples (of what the author considered 'in' and 'out' of this group) given, the more confused I got. The book was flawed because of this, for all that it was full of interesting bits and bobs.
I also found the style grated at times. The majority of the book was sound historical content, but the author seemed to lack confidence in this, and to pepper the text with a generous smattering of amusing footnotes and twee pop culture references. It's almost as if he thought the reader wouldn't remain interested in a normal non-fiction book. Some of the 'funny' stuff landed, but quite a lot didn't and felt a bit tiresome and odd.
July 23, 2022
Greg Jenner is the man behind Horrible Histories and the fabulous podcast, You're Dead to Me, and this book reflects his dark, subversive take on history too. It's very, very funny as you'd expect from him, he's the master of the pithy vignette. But it's also extremely erudite and incredibly well-researched, combining 'straight' history with quite a range of sociological interpretations of 'celebrity'. What is it, how do we perceive it, when did it start, what's the difference between celebrity and fame, from the Romans all the way through to today's social media influencers, examples are dissected and studied, and held up to the definition that the author comes up with in the early chapter of 'celebrity.'
I'm making this sound like a rather boring and dry read. It's not. It has some wonderful, hysterical characters in it that are almost unbelievable. It is funny - I think I said that! And erudite. And I really enjoyed it.
I'm making this sound like a rather boring and dry read. It's not. It has some wonderful, hysterical characters in it that are almost unbelievable. It is funny - I think I said that! And erudite. And I really enjoyed it.
April 19, 2024
This one was not a quick read (despite me cramming the last half of it into a week to prep for book club). It was tough to get through and easy to miss things, often leaving me frustrated. I loved the humor of the author and thought the topic and the stories he used were super interesting. I loved thinking about all the parallels between celebrity today and celebrity from the 1800s, and how changes in technology have or haven’t changed that. Whether it was sex scandals, celebrity feuds, or crazed fans it seems like very little has changed in the past few centuries; other than largely the delivery vehicle of information and globalization of celebrities. I wish the author had used less stories and gone into further depth with the ones he used. I struggled to keep track of all the celebrity examples due to the amount referenced and the unclear way he often introduced them. I was not the most clear on the points he was trying to make. It read like a fun but haphazard history of random celebrities more than any groundbreaking or controversial review of the word “celebrity” in my opinion.
April 27, 2021
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.
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.
September 25, 2021
This was muddled, jumping from celebrity to celebrity, time period to time period so it was hard to keep track of. The author was far too wrapped up in his own cleverness with every second line being a weak joke and most of the footnotes being the same nonsense. He put most of a chapter into defining the term celebrity but still didn't come up with a workable definition - instead his definition seems to rely on existence of printed media (why?) and capitalism (why?) which was very limiting. So it becomes a story of mostly famous actresses with a few writers, sportsmen and a clergyman thrown in. Not really the 'unexpected history' it's billed as. Felt a lot like a draft that needed some reorganising and editing rather than a finished product.
August 21, 2020
I did really enjoy this book, it was interesting and humorous, and taught me a lot about celebrity. However, it took me so goddamn long. I wouldn't pick it up for days, and when I did my mind wandered. Obviously, history books take me way longer to read than my normal YA, fantasy or sci-fi, there's a lot of new information to take in, that's the whole point. It is definitely worth a read, I did enjoy it when I could concentrate, although sometimes I lost the point he was trying to make, probably due to me not reading it for 5 days. It was very interesting, and quite funny as well, it gave off Horrible Histories vibes. I liked it.
April 17, 2022
Greg said it took 4 years to write this…it would have taken me 4 years to read it if I hadn’t given up. I thought this was going to be about famous historic people but turns out it was a convoluted mess attempting to define celebrity in 300 pages. There was no continuity to this book, we switched focus 3 times a page getting snippets of stories with callbacks 3 chapters later when the moment was well and truly passed. I love Greg’s podcast so this was disappointing.
October 1, 2020
This book explores the meaning of celebrity and fame and all the other connotations which have become somewhat mixed in our times. Using examples from the last 300 years or so, Jenner shows how celebrity culture and fandoms are nothing new. It's informative but also entertaining in its approach and makes for a fascinating read.
March 14, 2021
Ako je obsesivno diseciranje profanih fenomena sa svom snagom amaterskog sociologa tvoja ideja zabave... počni da slušaš podkaste!
A i ova knjiga će ti biti kul.. Malo tanko u tom filozofskom delu, ali meni je dovoljno zabavno da vidim kako je influenser marketing izgledao pre 300 godina..
A i ova knjiga će ti biti kul.. Malo tanko u tom filozofskom delu, ali meni je dovoljno zabavno da vidim kako je influenser marketing izgledao pre 300 godina..
June 20, 2020
I'm not super into celebrity culture in general, but this was just a fun (mostly light hearted) romp through what fame and celebrity is and various past celebrities. I.. probably would have gotten more out of it if I had paid attention a lot more closely. But as it was, it's just a good thing to relax with during the stressful year of 2020 :) The book is read by the author and he does a great job.
June 20, 2024
I bought this book at the beginning of the pandemic but only started reading it recently. Let me tell you, those 4 years really did a number on this book.
For every ounce of research and history there is a pound of millennial cringe humor and unfunny quips. I really wanted to try and ignore it, but the 'oh ho ho aren't I so clever' vibe permeates every single page and every single sentence. I'm sure that before Covid and the craziness of the past 4 years it may not have bothered me so much, but in our current day and age it made me angry. This book became a test of my endurance rather than something I enjoyed.
On top of the wildly out of date and embarrassing writing, the last few chapters get a little weird. I don't want to say they give a boot licker vibe as I think that's too far but there is certainly a 'poor millionaire 😔' angle in there which, again, I think does bode well now days.
I wish I liked it more. I wish it gave me what I wanted. I wish I wasn't so embarrassed for this author.
For every ounce of research and history there is a pound of millennial cringe humor and unfunny quips. I really wanted to try and ignore it, but the 'oh ho ho aren't I so clever' vibe permeates every single page and every single sentence. I'm sure that before Covid and the craziness of the past 4 years it may not have bothered me so much, but in our current day and age it made me angry. This book became a test of my endurance rather than something I enjoyed.
On top of the wildly out of date and embarrassing writing, the last few chapters get a little weird. I don't want to say they give a boot licker vibe as I think that's too far but there is certainly a 'poor millionaire 😔' angle in there which, again, I think does bode well now days.
I wish I liked it more. I wish it gave me what I wanted. I wish I wasn't so embarrassed for this author.
January 3, 2022
3.5 stars.
Fun read, if a little repetitive at times and some analysis was maybe a little too surface-level at times? I understand the author was trying to make them as simple as possible and he did provide a whole lot of books and articles of further reading. The sources provided are very exhaustive though and there are various topics presented in the book I might check out eventually.
Fun read, if a little repetitive at times and some analysis was maybe a little too surface-level at times? I understand the author was trying to make them as simple as possible and he did provide a whole lot of books and articles of further reading. The sources provided are very exhaustive though and there are various topics presented in the book I might check out eventually.
June 10, 2022
Intellectual and entertaining, this book discusses the origins and meaning of celebrity through the centuries, introducing us to various aspects of celebrity as well as different kinds of celebrity.
December 12, 2023
Fascinating read.
July 24, 2024
This was a great little introduction to celebrity as a concept, its links to modernity and capitalism, told through a range of short, effective case studies that were thematically linked. Also really liked how Jenner's written voice was a bit like a gossip columnist, though with a touch of academic flair and sensitivity when it came to issues concerned racism and sexual violence.
September 18, 2023
Look... I cheated and skim read, like, the last hundred pages because this shit was dragging on and literally sending me to sleep (the hayfever isn't helping but it was absolute struggle town). There's just too much going on here. It's not succinct, it has call backs to chapters ago that you've already forgotten because there's so much going on, the focus is lacking. Kudos to the author on trying to tackle the subject because it is messy and all over the joint but he sort of comes across and the sort of person who goes off on tangents only slightly related to what he was originally talking about and no shade! I'm ADHD and do that shit all the time in conversations but in a book... it just made something that was already chaotic, way more chaotic.
I should have DNF'd but I like to punish myself. Also, there were parts that were a little outdated already because of the nature of the subject (there was mention of Miley Cyrus's marriage break up being amicable and I guess we know now that it really wasn't) so that takes you out a little as well. Weirdly there wasn't a chapter dedicated the proliferation of celebrity in the internet age? I can't remember if this book is prior to TikTok. I'm sure it mentioned influencers but honestly, it was just a bit of a muddle so I can't really tell you.
I should have DNF'd but I like to punish myself. Also, there were parts that were a little outdated already because of the nature of the subject (there was mention of Miley Cyrus's marriage break up being amicable and I guess we know now that it really wasn't) so that takes you out a little as well. Weirdly there wasn't a chapter dedicated the proliferation of celebrity in the internet age? I can't remember if this book is prior to TikTok. I'm sure it mentioned influencers but honestly, it was just a bit of a muddle so I can't really tell you.
June 16, 2022
I might have read this book wrong. Each chapter looks at different aspects of celebrity/celebrity culture (money, attitudes to celebrity bodies, fandom...) and then tells a few stories that fit the theme. And I picked the book up, read a few stories, put it down for a while and read something different, and then came back. But none of those aspects exist in a vacuum. No celebrity has only money but no fandom. At least some parts of the fandom will always comment on the body of 'their' celeb. And so a lot of the stories reference the story of a person that had been previously mentioned and...that I had already forgotten about because it had been a while.
I might have to give this another try and read it with fewer breaks in between but the "No celebrity fits only in one chapter" I already mentioned really makes it a bit confusing (since it's also not chronological).
I might have to give this another try and read it with fewer breaks in between but the "No celebrity fits only in one chapter" I already mentioned really makes it a bit confusing (since it's also not chronological).
May 10, 2020
This is a thoroughly enjoyable book - you will read and learn - and be eager to learn even more! The writing is engaging with humour throughout - and there is a whole tempting reading list at the end too. Just wonderful!
June 1, 2020
The research that must have gone into this book is amazing. Each sentence is loaded with facts. With so much to take in, at times it felt more like a dissertation then a book. I enjoyed the historic strange celebrity snippets.
December 19, 2021
I am being generous as it is Christmas. Not sure what the point of this book was supposed to be. Neither academic nor funny. The whole (long) chapter on semantics and sociology just needed to be ditched; the rest was a confusing mess of mini-biographies and sociological theory.
February 18, 2021
Es un libro curioso, pero se hace demasiado largo. Las anécdotas que va contando servirían muy bien para un podcast.
January 16, 2023
I've just finished "Dead Famous" by Greg Jenner and thoroughly enjoyed Greg Jenner's witty writing style. The book presents a wealth of amusing historical anecdotes about famous figures throughout history, which kept me entertained from start to finish. I particularly appreciated the author's ability to make historical figures relatable and interesting, even when discussing well-known figures. The author was able to uncover new and fascinating facts about them that I had not previously known, which made the book an enjoyable experience.
Additionally, the author's use of humour throughout the book added a light-hearted and entertaining element. It was a nice way to read about history, and very much replicates Jenner's podcasting style.
However, there are some shortcomings that should be noted. Firstly, I was not sold on the format of the book which led to various amusing historical anecdotes being told about historical figures that were lacking the appropriate wider historical context. The lack of context could it difficult for readers to fully understand the significance of the anecdotes if they are not fully versed on particular historical periods.
Furthermore, the book feels slightly muddled when it comes to explaining the concept of celebrity. The author explicitly states that Romans are not celebrities, yet they are mentioned throughout the book as examples of a particular aspect of celebrity culture. This inconsistency made it difficult for me to fully grasp the author's perspective on celebrity and left me feeling a bit confused. However, that is not to say the book was not highly enjoyable.
Overall, I would recommend "Dead Famous". The writing style is witty, informative, and easy to read, making it a fun experience.
Additionally, the author's use of humour throughout the book added a light-hearted and entertaining element. It was a nice way to read about history, and very much replicates Jenner's podcasting style.
However, there are some shortcomings that should be noted. Firstly, I was not sold on the format of the book which led to various amusing historical anecdotes being told about historical figures that were lacking the appropriate wider historical context. The lack of context could it difficult for readers to fully understand the significance of the anecdotes if they are not fully versed on particular historical periods.
Furthermore, the book feels slightly muddled when it comes to explaining the concept of celebrity. The author explicitly states that Romans are not celebrities, yet they are mentioned throughout the book as examples of a particular aspect of celebrity culture. This inconsistency made it difficult for me to fully grasp the author's perspective on celebrity and left me feeling a bit confused. However, that is not to say the book was not highly enjoyable.
Overall, I would recommend "Dead Famous". The writing style is witty, informative, and easy to read, making it a fun experience.
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