Kaleidoscope Publishing
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Inside Updown, The Story of Upstairs, Downstairs - new hardback edition
As a child, Richard Marson was fascinated by and fell in love with Upstairs, Downstairs. Years later, when he was himself working in the television industry, he produced and directed the 25th anniversary documentary about the series. This led him to research and write what he hoped would be the ultimate book about the making of a major TV drama, from first idea to final frame.
For this special edition of that book, he has revisited the original text to fully revise and update it, unearthing a plethora of new information and tracking down some important new contributors. The book is packed with rare photographs and illustrations, many in colour, from the archives of those who worked on the production. It also includes the first publication of Rosemary Anne Sisson’s long lost screenplay for the proposed Upstairs, Downstairs film, as well as the original document which first sold the idea for the programme and a charming short story, written by producer John Hawkesworth, in which Christmas comes to 165 Eaton Place.
You can find more information about the book on this page.
Downloadable Guides
Our two latest titles are both downloadable books. Instead of ten or twelve paper volumes, the latest version of our BBC Drama Guide together with the first new-style re-issue of our Comedy Guide come in two handy downloads. Each contains over 2,500 pages of information for just £29.99.
You can find more information about the BBC Drama Guide on this page, and on the Comedy Guide here. There are also lists of all the programmes covered in the Drama Guide and in the Comedy Guide
Many Moons and a few stars - the first volume of autobiography from Leonard White
Our latest book is the first autobiographical volume from actor, producer and director Leonard White (The Avengers, Armchair Theatre, Sky).
This book takes us through the first thirty or so years of his life, as a council-schoolboy, sometime newspaper-boy, bookie’s clerk, shipping agents’ penpusher, and then, initially against his will, involved in theatre. Remarkably, however, a very fine teacher changed all that. From then on he only wanted to be an actor...
Available from 6th September 2010 – for £12.99 plus p&p – pre-orders are post-free in the UK.
British Independent Television Drama Guide 1955-2010 May 2010 Download edition
Friday, 11th June 2010
This Drama Guide is our first downloadable book. Instead of the seven paper volumes you’d have had to find space for if we’d printed it, it now comes in handy download form, straight to your computer. Over 3,000 pages of information for just £29.99.
You can find more information about the book on this page. There also a list of all the programmes covered in the book and a few sample pages to give you an idea what it looks like.
What people have already been saying:
“I'm really pleased you've moved to electronic versions and at a very reasonable price. I just hope people understand that they are paying a minuscule amount for a very large body of research...” – Tim Disney
“... an incredible reference tool...” – Alun Jones, ITV Wales
“...anyone who hasn't got a print copy should buy this immediately & if you're passionate enough about tv to have the print version then this is a bargain price for an update.” – David Buck
Kaleidoscope Publishing exists to promote the appreciation of British television in general and particularly ‘classic’ television programmes that many of us remember from years gone by.
“...a very enterprising group of people in the midlands called Kaleidoscope who specialise in looking at old programmes, gettings copies that everyone thinks have long disappeared and they find them and restore them, and they do credits lists for people like me.” Alan Plater, CBE.
To this end we have published a number of guides to British television archive holdings. These guides include exhaustive information on the number of archived programmes and the format(s) that they are held in. We have created this website as a means by which visitors can get a flavour of just why our guides have been described as “invaluable resources for anyone wishing to research, or even with a general interest in, British television”.
Use the links above or to the left to explore this site and find out more about Kaleidoscope Publishing, our books and future publications.
Visit our sister site for all the latest details of our events, a full, and amazingly comprehensive,
list of TV related websites and resources and much, much more.