The Empire : 'Wonderful. A lifelong love letter to the theatre' Reverend Richard Coles - the perfect Christmas gift - Michael Ball

The Empire

'Wonderful. A lifelong love letter to the theatre' Reverend Richard Coles - the perfect Christmas gift

By: Michael Ball

Paperback | 17 January 2023

At a Glance

Paperback


Limited Stock Available

RRP $32.99

$30.25

or 4 interest-free payments of $7.56 with

 or 
In Stock and Aims to ship in 1-2 business days

When will this arrive by?

The first in a series set in the world of theatre by the master of musical theatre.

Welcome to The Empire Theatre.

'It's the jewel of the north, The Empire. Lord Lassiter bought it for his second wife, Lady Lillian and she supervised every detail of the restoration. There's not a finer theatre in the country'.

But The Empire is not just a theatre. From music hall to vaudeville, from revue to grand musical spectacular, it holds a special place in the nation's heart. For its audience, for its actors and singers, for the stagehands, the front-of-house staff, for its backers and its debtors - and above all for its owners - it truly is a palace of dreams.

And for young Jack Treadwell, struggling to adapt to civilian life after the horrors of the trenches, it's a lifeline. When he receives a letter out of the blue inviting him to work at The Empire, he leaps at the chance. After all, it's owned by the family of his former commanding officer, Edmund Lassiter.

But as Jack soon discovers, it is not just the actors who are donning a disguise. With whispers of a cover-up, a scandal and sibling rivalry, tensions rise, along with the curtain. For there is treachery at the heart of The Empire and a dark secret waiting in the wings. Can Jack discover the truth before it is too late, and the theatre that means so much to them all goes dark?

Following the lives and loves of the Lassiter and Treadwell families, from the aftermath of the Great War and the Roaring Twenties to the dark days of the Second World War and the Blitz, Michael Ball's debut fiction series charts the story of the high notes and the low notes of British musical theatre in all its glamour, greasepaint and glory.

About the Author

Michael Ball OBE is a singer, actor, presenter and now author. He's been a star of musical theatre for over three decades, winning the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical twice, he's also won two BRIT awards and been nominated for a Grammy. Michael regularly sells out both his solo tours and his Ball & Boe shows with Alfie Boe and has multiple platinum albums. The Empire is his first novel.

Other Editions and Formats

Digital Audiobook

Published: 13th October 2022

Instant Digital Delivery to your Booktopia Reader App

ePUB

Published: 13th October 2022

Instant Digital Delivery to your Booktopia Reader App

Hardcover

Published: 13th January 2022

More in Fiction

Holmes Is Missing : (Holmes, Margaret and Poe 2) - James Patterson

RRP $34.99

$22.75

35%
OFF
The Bad Bridesmaid - Rachael Johns

SIGNED COPY

RRP $34.99

$22.75

35%
OFF
Unfinished Business - Shankari Chandran

SIGNED COPY

RRP $34.99

$22.75

35%
OFF
The Pool - Hannah Tunnicliffe

Paperback

RRP $34.99

$22.75

35%
OFF
Dawnshard : A Stormlight Archive Novella - Brandon Sanderson
Fruits Basket : Complete Anime Natsuki Takaya Illustrations - Natsuki Takaya
Fruits Basket Collector's Edition, Vol. 2 : Volume 2 - Natsuki Takaya
Solo Leveling, Vol. 1 : Light Novel - Chugong

RRP $24.99

$16.50

34%
OFF
Solo Leveling, Vol. 1 (comic) : SOLO LEVELING GN - DUBU(REDICE STUDIO)

RRP $34.99

$27.95

20%
OFF
Minato's Laundromat, Vol. 1 : MINATOS LAUNDROMAT GN - Yuzu Tsubaki
I Cannot Reach You, Vol. 1 : I Cannot Reach You - Mika Mika

RRP $22.99

$14.50

37%
OFF
I Cannot Reach You, Vol. 2 : I Cannot Reach You - Mika Mika

RRP $22.99

$14.50

37%
OFF
Bonded in Death : An Eve Dallas thriller (In Death 60) - J. D. Robb
Does It Hurt? - H. D. Carlton

Paperback

RRP $34.99

$33.25

Bungo Stray Dogs, Vol. 5 : Light Novel - Kafka Asagiri

RRP $26.99

$22.75

16%
OFF
Deep End : From the bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis - Ali Hazelwood