In this memoir, Frayn reveals the original exemplar of the extraordinary-ordinary life: his father, Tom Frayn. A clever lad, a roofing salesman with a winning smile and a racetrack vocabulary, Tom Frayn emerged undaunted from a childhood spent in two rooms with six other people, all of them deaf. And undaunted he stayed, even through the shockingly sudden tragedy that darkened his life. Tom Frayn left his son little more than three watches and two ink-and-wash prints. But the true fortune he passed on was the great humor and spirit revealed in this beguiling memoir.
Michael Frayn is the author of thirteen plays, including the classic comedy Noises Off, and Copenhagen, which was named Play of the Year by the Evening Standard and won the Drama Critics Circle award. Frayn has also written seven novels and three screenplays, as well as being a journalist, documentary filmmaker, and translator of Chekhov. Headlong is his first novel to appear in the United States since 1993. He lives in London.
Martin Jarvis has starred in many West End productions and on Broadway in By Jeeves. His screen appearances include Titanic, Murder She Wrote, Miss Marple, Numb3rs, Inspector Morse, and Stargate Atlantis. He is an award-winning audiobook performer and has received an OBE from the Queen for his services to drama.