This is the most comprehensive and insightful account yet published of Harold Pinter's life, from his Hackney childhood to his current position as Britain's most eminent playwright, and of his work as writer, actor and director. Coolly and judiciously, Billington explores his subject's plays and political activity, his screenwriting and his poetry, and discusses his friendships and both his marriages. This is a book that both confirms Pinter's stature and explains the reasons for it.