Behind the Colonnade (Thirty-Seven Years at the British Museum)

Norman Jacobs worked at the British Museum for 37 years, during the period of its greatest change. He was intimately involved in a number of the key decisions and projects affecting the Museum, such as the separation of the British Library, the building of the Great Court and the controversy over free admission. He was also involved in a number of the scandals that made headlines in the press, such as the ‘Hypocrisy at the Top’ story that caught the press and public’s imagination in the early 1980s. However, this is much more than just a look at the major issues affecting the Museum. It is also an affectionate and light-hearted peek behind the scenes at some of the great characters of the past forty years, and the amusing incidents that make up the day-to-day life of one of Britain’s best-known and best-loved institutions.