One of Them
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3 Months Free + £10 Audible voucher
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Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST.
One of Them
Narrated by:
Michael Cashman
Buy Now for £15.28
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Narrated by:
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Michael Cashman
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By:
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Michael Cashman
LONGLISTED FOR THE POLARI PRIZE 2021
‘From the East End to Westminster ... A beautifully written, funny memoir’ Jo Brand
Growing up in post-war East London, the son of a docker and an office cleaner, young Michael Cashman’s life changed when he was discovered, aged twelve, and transported to the West End stage. Cashman would make history – first as an actor, one half of the first gay kiss broadcast on a British soap, BBC TV’s EastEnders, and then as a campaigner and politician, founding Stonewall with Ian McKellen, and embarking on a fight for gay rights across the world that would lead him and his partner Paul Cottingham from tea in LA with David Hockney to flying the rainbow flag over the Royal Albert Hall with Elton John.
One of Them contains as many multitudes as its author: glorious nostalgia, showbiz gossip and a stirring history of a civil rights movement. And above all things, it is a love story – a tender account of a partnership that changed the world.
‘A powerful account of public life, love and loss … Passionate and true, illuminating, bright and breezy’ Simon Callow
‘This book, unlike any other I’ve read, is a true portrait of a brave actor/politician/Lord … A memoir to cherish’ Ian McKellen
‘The best book I’ve read in years ... Heartbreaking’ Steven Berkoff, New Statesman©2020 Michael Cashman (P)2020 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
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Critic reviews
Beautifully written, it moves with ease from a tough childhood in the East End of London through the bohemian life of an actor ending up in the world of politics, all knitted together with an unpredictable and moving love story. It made me happy and sad and all points in between (JO BRAND)
The best book I’ve read in years ... Heart-breaking (NEW STATESMAN)
Brutally frank and brave
Tells not just the story of his life, but also the battle for LGBT equality in the UK
Poignant reading
A powerful account of public life, love and loss … Passionate and true, illuminating, bright and breezy … In the league of My Early Years, Charlie Chaplin’s great account of late 19th-century south London – graphic, filled with smells and tastes and strange encounters … A great book about love, pain and the whole damn thing (Simon Callow)
There is brilliance in his memoir, One of Them, and darkness, too, enough to raise it far above the normal standard of celebrity biography … Stunning … The lucidity of the writing is breath-taking … He could never be accused … in life or literature, of not doing enough
With this memoir Michael Cashman can add "writer" to a CV that already includes "actor", "politician" and "campaigner". Apart from its important contribution to British social history, this is a book to be savoured for its own sake as a wonderful piece of descriptive writing and a rollicking good read (ALAN JOHNSON, author of the bestselling This Boy)
Michael Cashman's beautifully crafted memoir left me in tears and grateful that he had the courage to lay out his almost unimaginable life with such impressive honesty ... Above all, however, this is the tenderest of love stories, a proud testament to a decades-long queer romance. There are so many reasons to love this book (ARMISTEAD MAUPIN)
This book, unlike any other I’ve read, is a true portrait of a brave actor/politician/Lord. Michael Cashman shares his most private feelings in a memoir to cherish (IAN McKELLEN)
Michael Cashman describes his journey from a cruel Dickensian childhood to the dignity of the House of Lords with brutal honesty. I was shocked, amused, and deeply moved by this life of a brave, good, man (SHEILA HANCOCK)
In February, Michael Cashman, now Lord Cashman of Limehouse, tells his life story in One Of Them: From Albert Square To Parliament Square … from East End boy and child actor to soap star, Stonewall founder, MEP and now member of the House of Lords
[A] roller coaster memoir … Peppered with delicious anecdotes of his encounters with celebrities
An extraordinary account of improbable leaps of faith and changes of direction ... An amazing, complicated love story
I laughed, gasped and cried - many times.
Michael Cashman read with such joy and emotion. I can only imagine how many read throughs that must have taken him. He has a beautiful voice. I had to turn off on the train though towards the end. Best read on your own with a large red wine and a hanky!!
A must read
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Breathtaking and beautiful
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Absolutely beautifully written
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Such an insight to life as an actor, a gay man, a political genius and all from a working class background.
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What an achievement!
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