John Thaw Books

It's hard to be negative about a book that a woman has written about the loss of her husband, but I feel that how this book is sold is largely misleading. I had never heard of the author and so her life story held no real interest for me especially since I found the writing less than inspired. I, like many other people I think, bought this book to learn more about John Thaw, and certainly the book is trying to sell itself on this point with John Thaw's name and picture front and centre on the cover. But in reality, only about half the book is about him, the rest is about Sheila Hancock's life and her diary entries about her husband's death.

I felt her diary entries became very repetitive towards the end. While there are indeed some interesting things about John Thaw in the book, I found the information I gleaned was not worth the reading of the entire work. I also found there were very few true insights into the man, or the author for that matter. The book must hit a chord with some readers due to the other glowing reviews here, but be forewarned this is a novel about John Thaw AND Sheila Hancock, if those two people interest you then it may be just the thing. I however was left at the end feeling rather dissapointed.

I started this book because I have fond memories of John Thaw zooming round London in 'The Sweeney' and I dream of one day having a red Jaguar like the one he drove in 'Inspector Morse'. However, there was another side of John Thaw I knew nothing about, a man who struggled with depression and alcoholism....

Sheila Hancock, his wife, tells this beautiful warts and all love story as a tribute to the whole man. We read about the hell he put himself and those he loved through when he was drinking and about his recovering from alcoholism and how this rejuvenated his relationships.

Tragically, John Thaw died of cancer in 2002. The book is a tribute to the man as an actor and (and this was more important to me) a heartfelt love letter telling of the trials, tribulations and eventual triumph of a marriage which, while it might have been made in heaven, put both Mr Thaw and Ms Hancock through more than their share of hell.

For anyone who is a devoted John Thaw fan,(he was the BEST as far as I'm concerned), this is a book that you MUST read. Not only is it a tribute to his talent but it is a love letter from the love of his life. I brushed away many a tear while reading this wonderful but heartbreaking book.
Not only is this an intelligently written book by his wife, an accomplished actress herself, but she shares many photos of John's personal and professional life.
It was wonderful.

I bought this book because I and my wife so admired John Thaw the actor,
Morse, Cavanagh, Mr. Tom, A Year in Province etc. This not your typical
biography of a great actor it's much more. This is a moving story of a
women's deep love of a very flawed and troubled man. Her fears of losing him and her eventual loss of him hits home to anyone who has lost someone
that was the love of their life. She has written a deeply personel story,
and given words to thoughts we all have at the loss of one we so loved.
This book touched me deeply, it's what we all will face eventually as
the one who is dying or the one left behind. There is no gloss here
She portrays their life as it was and who they were. John Thaw was a
wonderful actor, but a greater man for beating his demons and over
comming all the blocks to happiness in his life.He could not have done it without her love and patience. He was a "Lucky Man",read it and weep.

An entertaining tell-all by Sheila Hancock, an actress of whom I had never heard before picking up this book on a whim. As it happens I like the title.

She has many great stories about growing up in some shabby corners of England, and becoming an actress of some repute, as well as a sex symbol on English TV. It sounds as though she's had some limited success in movies, but mostly, I suppose, if you don't watch a lot of British TV from the 70s and 80s, you might not have heard of her.

I never heard of her husband either, but he was also a British TV star who played a cop in two long running series, one based on the Inspector Morse novels by Colin Dexter. His name was John Thaw and most of Hancock's book centers on him, her feelings for him, the complicated romantic relationships of the pair, and mostly about the alcoholism that, left unchecked, turned him into a human monster. Hancock relates some stories about Thaw's working class background that indicate he had vast reservoirs of resentment that fueled his masterful stage appearances. But he wasn't an easy husband, nor a good father; not until the end when, under the light of a guiding star called Udi Eichler, he learned to stop drinking and to sober up. Even though I never heard of any of the characters, I found myself intensely interested in Sheila Hancock's story. I wanted her to be happy, and I wanted John to come to his senses and stop throwing away the good things he had. And yes, all these things came to pass. Alas! Just when he was getting it together (personally speaking), he was diagnosed with late-stage cancer, and so he had only a short time to enjoy this late-blooming springtime of sobriety.

She uses her own diaries and those of her late husband, to good effect. What could be more wrenching than the dream journal of alcoholic John? "Came upstairs. Sheila came out of study. Looks me up and down. I look down. See there is vomit over my jacket and trousers." She might have been a termagant to the poor guy, but believe me, she had every right to be. In some ways she was an enabler, but as we see, she has a heart as big as Blackpool, and a more loveable show biz memoir you won't read for eons. There are, incidentally, a plethora of anecdotes about the famous friends and acquaintances of the couple, including some priceless stories about Peter O'Toole, no acting slouch himself, a man who idolized John Thaw.

What can I say? From his early days dealing with London "bad boys" in "The Sweeney" (shut it!), through to his more thoughtful policing of the murder hot-bed of Oxford (I live only a few miles away, and I can tell you it's one of the most violent places on earth) it is apparent that Mr. Thaw was one of our proud country's greatest policemen.

John Thaw had a wooden leg, right side, knee down! Just watch him walk.
I loved watching him, miss him.

As his wife I can tell you that John disliked this book intensely. It was not authorised and is full of misrepresentations and inventions. I urge you not to read it.

and wanted to learn more about the man behind the "Morse" code, having been a fan for YEARS! He was indeed a talented actor - and lived life true to his Capricornian nature. This book allowed me to spend time with him in a way I would not otherwise have been able, so I disagree with the reviews saying negative things. I do think he left things out that we will never know; it is his right to do so. He held a longstanding grudge against his mother for leaving him at a young age, but at least he had a wonderful father.....many people don't even have that, so beyond one mention of it was overdone.. He also repeated phrases about his wife when once would have done the job; I don't know why he felt the need to do that - perhaps a fear in him (I can only speculate.) Still I remain a huge and devoted fan of John Thaw and Inspector Morse. I have bought his movies and am glad I had the pleasure of learning more about him thru his book. After all, we are, each of us, only simple human beings.

I Agree With John's wife in the review of this book.The only reason I purchased it was to get more insite into John and his life. Being a huge fan of John Thaw and his work, I found it to be quite shallow and very repeditive on certain issues.Many facts in the book seemed to be incorrect as well. Although I found the photos in the book a nice touch, I thought that the writer focused too much on certain issues and aspects of John's life that John himself found to be incorrect and almost offensive.I'm looking forward to the release of Shiela's Book in Fall of 2004, about her husband,friend and the Talented Late actor whom I'm sure we all miss very much.I will definately purchase that publication as I'm sure it will give John's fans a correct view of his career and his life, which was cut far too short by his death from Cancer on Feb 21/02. John was probably one of the greatest British actors that I have ever seen, and It's my opinion that the author if this book didn't do him the justice he deserved. I still find it hard to comprehend that John is no longer with us and that we will never see any more new work from him .So, please don't waste your money on this book and wait for Sheila's Book to be published.You'll be glad that you did.

The box would give you the impression that John Thaw is the narrator. He is not. All it is is a unknown narrator filling in the spaces of the DVD tapes voices. very disappointing