Empire (Ball)

THE THEATRE MAY SEEM GLAMOROUS, BUT SECRETS WAIT BEHIND THE CURTAIN 1926. Running a theatre may appear to be all about the showbiz, but times are hard at The Empire. Following a turbulent period Jack Treadwell, erstwhile proprietor, his mother Lillian, and his playwright wife Grace, know they need to get things back on track - and how better than with the annual pantomime, a new venture, and an all-singing all-dancing talent contest, showcasing the best performers around. But could Lillian's new admirer, Grand Duke Nikolai Kuznetsov, be bringing disaster in his wake? Will The Empire be caught up in the scandal surrounding West End star, Stella Stanmore? And what are their enemies in Highbridge planning? While Jack and Grace fight to ensure the show does go on, a royal visitor raises the stakes and a young widow, Sally Blow, dares to dream that the talent contest might be her big break. As the talent contest draws closer, tragedy strikes. Amid the glitz and glamour there are strange goings on and a plot afoot. Is everything Jack and Grace have worked so hard for about to come crashing down? And could this be curtains for The Empire? Musical theatre legend Michael Ball brings his trademark warmth, wit and glamour to this sparkling new Empire Theatre novel. 'A wonderful book. A love letter to the theatre' Rev. Richard Coles 'A fantastic book. Brilliant' Don Black OBE 'A wonderful read' Jeffrey Archer 'A golden debut - charming, funny and romantic' Cameron Mackintosh 'Takes you to the magical world of theatre' Rosie Goodwin 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. An Empire Theatre novel from West End Legend, Michael Ball. Michael Ball is Britain's leading musical theatre star, a double Olivier Award-winning, Grammy nominated, multi-platinum recording artist and a hugely popular radio and TV presenter. Ball regularly tours the UK as a concert artist and has sold millions of albums over the last 30 years; he's performed in Australia, China, USA, Japan and, in 2007, made his BBC Proms debut: An Evening with Michael Ball at the Royal Albert Hall which marked the first time a musical theatre star had been given a solo concert at the Proms. Ball is highly active and engaged on social media across Facebook (216k followers), Twitter (139.3k followers) and Instagram (76k followers). This is the follow-up to Michael Ball's debut novel, Sunday Times bestseller The Empire.