The Heaviest of Swells Vol III

The Heaviest of Swells

Volume II of Christopher Beeching’s highly praised biography of the Lion Comique George Leybourne ended with the erroneous reporting of Leybourne’s death. Volume III picks up with this false news being rapidly and cruelly spread around the music halls and in all the major newspapers, with the publication of a fake ’Memorial’ poem.

In Volume III of The Heaviest of Swells, Beeching continues to delve into the trials and tribulations of Leybourne, as he struggles with yet more ill health, and the vagaries of life as a star of the Victorian music hall.

Leybourne’s continual arguments with his agents and alleged committal to a mental asylum ultimately led to diminished bookings and disgruntled managements, exacting a huge toll on

Leybourne’s professional and personal life, hastening his premature death at the age of forty-two.

In unravelling and dissecting Leybourne’s life and songs, Beeching, in his unique and entertaining style, brings their relevance to both the Victorian period and today into sharp focus. As George himself sang in 1877, ＂There’s Nothing New Under the Sun.＂