Dead Famous

An Unexpected History of Celebrity from Bronze Age to Silver Screen

By: Greg Jenner

Narrated by: Greg Jenner

Length: 12 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's Summary

We might think we now live in the age of celebrity. In fact the famous and infamous have been thrilling, entertaining and outraging us for millennia. Whether it's Socrates, who made his name annoying strangers with his questions, or the medieval saints whose desiccated body parts were collected by devout fans, or The Boy Jones, who gained notoriety for stealing Queen Victoria's knickers, we've always loved to gossip and obsess about people we've never met.  

From before the Bronze Age to the Golden Age of Hollywood, Greg Jenner assembles a wild cast of singers, dancers, actors, freaks, demigods, ruffians and more in search of the historical roots of celebrity. He reveals how people throughout history became famous, stayed famous and, often spectacularly, fell into obscurity. In turn, he also delves into what celebrity culture shows about the way we see the world, and ourselves. 

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2020 Greg Jenner (P)2020 Orion Publishing Group

Critic Reviews

"Fizzes with clever vignettes and juicy tidbits....[a] joyous romp of a book." (Guardian)  

"A magical mystery tour through the history of celebrity - eye opening, provocative, triumphant." (Kate Williams, best-selling author and historian)

"A fascinating, rollicking book in search of why, where and how fame strikes. Sit back and enjoy the ride." (Peter Frankopan)

An Very Interesting Read

What a great book which I binge listened to over two days. Full of fascinating characters that I would love to read more about, a fall down the rabbit hole of celebrity.

Thanks to Greg Jenner for the clear reading, although it was hard not to shout 'nuance window' every time the word nuance was uttered.

Great book. Thanks.

Perfectly Balanced

Dead Famous is a perfectly balanced reflection on celebrity through the ages. Greg Jenner expertly shows that, when you strip away the social and technological infrastructure, the true essence of celebrity has not changed dramatically since the 18th century. The book’s delicate humour never detracts from the intellect of Jenner’s arguments, even when the reader is confronted with the darker sides of celebrity culture. I would recommend this book to anyone that is interested enough to have read this review!

Dead Interesting

Well researched and packed with interesting tidbits about various historical figures (known and unknown) this is an enjoyable listen, ably read by the author. If you’ve enjoyed Greg Jenner’s podcast ‘You’re Dead To Me’ (which is excellent) you’ll likely feel right at home with this book. My only grumble is that the structure felt somewhat disjointed - it jumped around a lot in chronology and characters and there were regular references to previous chapters so it was easy to lose track of what point the current chapter was meant to be focused on. That’s not a dealbreaker though, just best to listen to it when you’re able to give it enough attention. I’d definitely recommend for anyone looking to dip into some interesting history as it’s engaging and informative.

Well researched & entertaining

Absolutely loved this book in quarantine! It was super interesting, really well done. Greg is so funny that you don't even notice you're learning History because he's making it accessible to all. I'm recommending this book to everyone I know!

A fantastic journey through celebrity.

Really enjoyed listening to Greg's dulcet tones. Fact packed and so interesting. Highly recommend it.

Fabulous and informative

I lived this book. The subject of celebrity can be very vacuous but Gregg has introduced so many aspects of what it means to be well known from Nell Gwynn to today’s influencers. He knows his stuff. Highly recommended.

Amazing research

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.

Really enjoyable listen. Fascinating characters.

Really worth a listen. Extremely good narration. Entertaining and thought-provoking. Made me value my privacy more than ever. Recommend highly

Such an interesting topic!

I would highly recommend this book! The way Jenner portrays these past celebrities is clear and distinct and it is so interesting to hear their stories.

Fantastic, witty, accessible..

Jenner's thematic approach, enlisting a cast of well known and less well known celebrity, casts new light on one of our most influential cultural phenomena.