Beautiful Lives

Praise for Beautiful Lives:'A beautiful book - powerful, persuasive, illuminating, moving.' Gyles Brandreth'This book is both heartrending and gorgeous. It crosses the line many times but ultimately it's about love. He teaches us humanity.' Miriam Margolyes'Unwin's marvellous, elegant, moving book is a major contribution to both the history and the understanding of this thing we call learning disability. Interspersed with the story of his complex, deeply loving relationship with his son Joey, it is a powerful, multi-faceted, myth-busting account of the most marginalised and belittled out-group in modern society.' Simon Jarrett, author of Those They Called Idiots'This is a superbly written, even entertaining treatment of a sombre topic - how people with learning disabilities are marginalised and ignored.' Jan Walmsley, Visiting Chair of Learning Disability History, Open University 'From a place of intense personal experience Beautiful Lives confronts the myths of learning disability with a startling clarity. It's a profoundly affecting book that also provides a manifesto for the future. Just as he has done with his playwriting Unwin has not only made the "strange, familiar" but tackled every myth and every spectrum of debate with a delicate touch. No reader will be left unchallenged by this incredible and important book. No reader will be left untouched.' Lucy Easthope, author of When the Dust SettlesPraise for: Poor Naked Wretches: Shakespeare's Working People'An engaging, persuasive and very well-researched book from a director who has extensive first-hand experience of Shakespeare's plays.' Sir Richard Eyre'In Poor Naked Wretches Unwin patiently accumulates the empirical evidence for a proper understanding of the voices of the poor and working people and their crucial role in any true, dynamic reading of Shakespeare's plays.' Sir Michael Boyd, former artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company'Unwin's arguments are enlivened by vivid historical context . . . This original spin on Shakespearean studies delivers.' Publishers Weekly