This is Sheila Hancock's memoir of her marriage to John Thaw. John was born in Manchester, the son of a lorry driver. When he arrived at RADA on a scholarship his timing was perfect. It was the sixties and television was beginning to make its mark.
'Her gift for directly communicating the open-heartedness and spirit of adventure with which she confronts her life ... is the stuff of bestsellers' Joan Bakewell, Guardian Sheila Hancock looked like she was managing old age. She had weathered and even thrived in widowhood, taking on acting roles that would have been demanding for a woman half her age. She had energy, friends, a devoted family, a lovely home. She could still remember her lines. So why, at 89, having sailed past supposedly disturbing milestones - 50, 70 even 80 - without a qualm, did she suddenly feel so furious? Shocking diagnoses, Brexit and bereavement seemed to knock her from every quarter. And that was before lockdown. Home alone, classified as 'extremely vulnerable', she finds herself yelling at the TV and talking to the pigeons. But she can at least take a good long look at life - her work and family, her beliefs (many of them the legacy of her wartime childhood) and, uncomfortable as it might be to face, her future. In Old Rage, one of Britain's best loved actors opens up about her ninth decade. Funny, feisty, honest, she makes for brilliant company as she talks about her life as a daughter, a sister, a mother, a widow, an actor, a friend and looks at a world so different from the wartime world of her childhood. And yet - despite age, despite rage - she finds there are always reasons for joy.
"Well now, prove it, Sheila. As John would say, 'Put your money where your mouth is.' Be a depressed widow boring the arse off everyone, or get on with life. Your choice." Sheila Hancock reflects on her life with John Thaw, filled with love, family, and a mix of joy and sorrow. Facing the void left by John, she contemplates what comes next. While gardening and family life offer some comfort, they cannot replace her loss. Inspired by the Quaker advice to 'live adventurously,' she decides to sell their cherished house in France and embark on new journeys. She explores solo travel, grappling with feelings of invisibility and the challenges of budget flights. Group trips prove frustrating as her questions go unanswered. Relaxation becomes a challenge in itself. Ultimately, stepping out of her comfort zone allows her to rediscover her past, reflecting on her generation's experiences during the Second World War and how it shaped her. This narrative is about moving forward while also looking back. Sheila's adventures—whether confronting burglars, navigating travel mishaps, uncovering secrets in Budapest, or mingling with the Mafia in Milan—show her as a vibrant, honest, and insightful woman. At seventy-five, she embraces the future with wit and curiosity, proving that life can still be an adventure.
Through deep friendships and love lost and found, from the peace marches of the fifties and the flowering of the swinging sixties, to the rise of Thatcher and the battle for gay rights, to the spectre of a new war, Sheila Hancock has created a powerful, panoramic portrait of Britain through the life of one very singular woman.