Two Before Nine

Meet one Beatle Brunch author who asks, "Dear Sir or Madam, Will You Read My Book?"

Shivering Inside, the second volume in Jude Southerland Kessler's 9-volume work on the life of John Lennon, picks up John's narrative on the very night that Shoulda Been There (Vol. 1) ends -10 December 1961  - and concludes on 11 April 1963. In this one-and-a-half year span, The Beatles rise to British fame, and John grapples with changes that shake his world.

Stu Sutcliffe, his best friend, dies in Hamburg, Germany. His girlfriend, Cynthia Powell, becomes pregnant, and the two wed. Drummer Pete Best is asked to leave The Beatles, and Ringo Starr joins the group. Brian Epstein transforms the band from leathered rockers into polished, suit-attired musicians who stick to a play list and bow at the end of each song. And EMI's George Martin begins to hone and polish The Beatles' music. Nothing in John's life remains as it began. And although the world perceives Lennon to be a happy-go-lucky, fortunate Beatle, he is anything but that. John is shivering inside.

Kessler's work contains rare photos from the private collection of Richard Langham (EMI Second Engineer), Bill Harry, and Sam Leach. It also has a Scouse Glossary of Liverpudlian terms and an Encyclopedia of Characters with biographies of each.

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