BY PHUMELELE MKHONTA
MBABANE- Break the ground!
This is the newly released ‘A Pocket Full of Happiness’, a book by Eswatini-born United Kingdom (UK) based actor Richard E. Grant, which has been listed in the top five of the Sunday Times Bestseller list.
Over a week ago, the memoir was seated at number four on the reputable charts.
The Sunday Times Bestseller list is the oldest and most influential book sales chart in the UK and the one that every author wants to be on.
The rankings are published weekly and online.
Grant said he was thrilled by the listing. He said this on his official Instagram page.
“Absolutely thrilled! Thank you so much for everyone who has bought a copy. It means the world to me and I am levitating (sic),” said Grant.
The book is Grant’s memoir, where he talks about his life, from the time he was born in Eswatini.
Amazon described the book as an intimate and uplifting memoir, giving the book a complete five stars.
“Born in Eswatini in 1957, Richard E. Grant moved to the UK to pursue his acting career and has been a fixture on our screens since his breakout role in Withnail and I in 1987. When his beloved wife, Joan, died in 2021 after almost 40 years together, she set him a challenge: to find a pocketful of happiness in every day.
“Set between the present day and flashbacks to delightfully indiscreet diary entries recalling landmarks from his remarkable life and glittering career, this is an immensely personal and profound memoir that celebrates and cherishes life’s unexpected joys. Funny, moving and perceptive, A Pocketful of Happiness is an insight into the life of a much loved British actor,” Amazon narrated the contents of the book.
In the meantime, social media users also gave positive feedback on the book, taking picture and writing complimentary notes on it.
According to Wikipedia, as a boy, Grant went to primary school at St Mark’s, a local government school in Mbabane that only recently had become racially integrated. When Grant was 10 years, he witnessed his mother commit adultery in a car with his father’s best friend, which subsequently led to his parents’ divorce. This event inspired Grant to keep a daily diary, which he has continued to do ever since.
Grant attended secondary school at Waterford Kamhlaba United World College of Southern Africa, an independent school near Mbabane. He then studied English and drama at the University of Cape Town. He adopted his stage name when he moved to Britain as an adult and registered with equity.
He made his film debut as Withnail in the comedy Withnail and I (1987).
