Behind the Colonnade

Norman Jacobs worked at the British Museum for thirty-seven 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 newspapers, such as the ‘Hypocrisy at the Top’ story that caught the press and the public’s imagination in the early 1980s. But this book 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.