A major reappraisal of one of the great figures of 20th-century British theatre that revises the established image of Baylis as a domineering and eccentric old lady. Through her work at the Old Vic and Sadler’s Wells she was the founding mother of the National Theatre, the Royal Ballet and the English National Opera. This biography sets out to discover how Baylis was able to manage two theatres and three companies, bringing what was considered the best of high culture to working people and still haul her theatres into profit. Refreshingly candid, it looks beyond the anecdotes to discover the private woman behind the public persona and argues for Baylis’s significance in shaping British theatre.

Hardback;  308 pp, 17ill., ISBN 1 902806 63 8

Co-published with University of Hertfordshire Press.