| Extract from Chapter One |
 |
| There is a danger that Joe Orton's life will always be more
famous than his works. His biography has all the elements needed
for a good story - a rags to riches tale, plenty of sex and
violence, a love doomed to end in tragedy and a star-studded
supporting cast. Most of all, it is the story of a talent cut
off in its prime. |
| He was born John Kingsley Orton on 1 January 1933. He grew
up in the Saffron Lane Estates of Leicester. His father, William,
was a gardener for the city council. His mother, Elsie, worked
as a machinist in a clothes factory until failing eyesight forced
her to leave and become a cleaning woman. The Ortons were not
a happy family. Joe's sister, Leonie, described her mother as
'a cruel bitch'. William was a timid man, dominated by his wife
and despised by his son. Joe's first comment on hearing that
his father had fractured his skull in an accident was: 'That
won't make any difference to his brain'. |
|
