Beside the Seaside

i This is the first book to focus on who was connected with which buildings in the City - from theatres to houses, lodging places to hotels, schools to work places. Many places are marked by commemorative plaques (of which there are more in Brighton than anywhere else other than London) but author Terry Philpot also draws attention to many other buildings, whose stories would otherwise go unnoticed.The book focuses mainly on the individuals' Brighton years - some in childhood, some in old age; some at the height of their fame, some the obscure years. Entries range from royals to revolutionaries; artists to architects; actors to aristocrats; comedians to clergymen; popular entertainers to politicians; musicians to the military; social reformers to sportsmen, and many more. These are the people whose lives have been woven into the city's unique history and passed through its back alleys and lived in its grand squares, some born to wealth, some to poverty; some spending their first years there, some their last. These are stories of ambition, extreme poverty and extreme wealth, disappointment, scandal, political endeavour, refuge, creative endeavour, murder, striving for fame - and sheer enjoyment.