Mark Barratt

In Victorian England, a young teen called Joe Rat survives by trolling the sewers for trash. He has his little niche in Mother's criminal empire, and knows he will never get out. Then he meets a young girl fleeing through the slum streets, and a madman living in a crumbling mansion who change what he thinks of people and himself.

This one's worth a browse. Usually, anything with the words unauthorised and biography together would have me running, away that is. This book manages to steer a line, uneasily at times, between overblown praise and criticism. There is some interesting analysis of the craft of acting and McKellen's aproach to it as he moves between the classic Shakespearean roles, pantomime, and the unique Lord of the Rings. His struggle with coming out as a gay man late in life also makes interesting reading.