Charlie Chaplin is the greatest icon in the history of cinema, who lived one of the most dramatic rags to riches stories ever told. Chaplin's life was marked by extraordinary contrasts: the child of London slums who became a multimillionaire; and the on-screen clown who was a driven perfectionist behind the camera. This book tells his story.

David Robinson is a celebrated film critic and historian who wrote for The Times and the Financial Times for several decades. His many books include World Cinema, Hollywood in the Twenties and Buster Keaton.