Book info

• Title Great-Uncle Harry
• Author Michael Palin
• Year 2023
• Genre Biography

From the time, many years ago, when Michael Palin first heard that his grandfather had a brother, Harry, who died in tragic circumstances, he was determined to find out more about him. The quest that followed involved hundreds of hours of painstaking detective work. Michael dug out every bit of family gossip and correspondence he could. He studied every relevant official document. He tracked down what remained of his great-uncle Harry's diaries and letters, and pored over photographs of First World War battle scenes to see whether Harry appeared in any of them. He walked the route Harry took on that fatal, final day of his life amid the mud of northern France. And as he did so, a life that had previously existed in the shadows was revealed to him. Great-Uncle Harry is an utterly compelling account of an ordinary man who led an extraordinary life. A blend of biography, history, travelogue and personal memoir this is Michael Palin at his very finest.

Thoughts

This is a really interesting book, both from the point of view of the story being told, but also as a concept. Michael Palin delves into the history of his Great-Uncle and his various researches piece together a small but not insignificant life, cut tragically short by the First World War. I love how Palin tells this story, being completely frank about the fact that a lot of it is conjecture, but also comparing and contrasting the things he finds out with his own life. And he visits lots of the destinations, or has visited them in his travels, which gives an extra insight as well. Really loved it.

Rating: 5 / 5