'By far the best guide to the past 100 years [of the theatre]... not least because de Jongh has a case to argue and does so with polemical flair' Aleks Sierz, Independent on Sunday; 'A wonderfully waspish account of the Lord Chamberlain's censoring of the British stage in the twentieth century...You have to either laugh or cry at this extraordinary reminder of British sexual unease... that de Jongh here so splendidly explores' Sheridan Morley, Literary Review; 'An exhilarating read... De Jongh ranges over his subject with a sprightly sense of mischief, wit, and deadly serious intent' The Times

Nicholas de Jongh has been Chief Theatre Critic of the London Evening Standard since 1991, and was formerly Deputy Critic and Arts Correspondent at the Guardian.