Bip in a Book

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Marcel Marceau‘s genius for the art of silence has astonished and delighted audiences of all ages for more than 50 years.

Now, Bip in a Book captures the celebrated mime’s boundless talent in a playful and charming adventure – and we really mean captures. Bip is Marceau’s beloved alter ego, a hapless clown with unlimited curiosity and compassion. Since his debut in 1947, Bip has bravely explored every imaginable location, from a skating rink to a lion cage.

But he has never been trapped inside the pages of a book…until now. Bip’s struggle against invisible walls is the subject of "The Cage," perhaps the best-known mime drama of all time. In Bip in a Book, this richly evocative drama is reinterpreted for a new generation. Once again Marceau’s famous innocent is trapped, but this time he is confined not by an imaginary cage, but by a page. Dressed in his signature striped pullover and battered opera hat, Bip is happily oblivious to his plight until he walks smack into the right edge of the page. As the reader turns the pages, Bip’s imaginative exploration of this unexpected situation is told through 32 vivid photographs, each underscoring Marceau’s outstanding gift of expression. Anyone who loves the theater will cherish these playful photographs of a modern master at work, but even readers who have never seen Bip will be drawn to the creativity and suspense of this one-of-a-kind story.



Marcel Marceau is universally acclaimed as the world’s greatest mime. He was trained in Paris in the mid-1940s by legendary teacher Etienne Decroux, who recognized that Marceau was a "born mime." Training and performing developed Marceau’s natural abilities until he gained acclaim as a master of pantomime in his own right. His enduring wordless dramas include "The Cage," "Walking Against the Wind," "Youth, Maturity, Old Age, and Death," and satires of everything from matadors to sculptors.

In 1949 he formed the only pantomime company in the world, and in 1955 he made his U.S. debut. Since then the artist has performed in every major U.S. city and around the world, and has gained an even larger international following through his many television and movie appearances. Among his many honors are an Emmy Award and France’s coveted Legion of Honor.

Bruce Goldstone is the author of The Beastly Feast (Holt), and Ten Friends (Holt). He lives happily trapped inside an invisible cage known as New York City. Steven Rothfeld is the photographer of Entrez (Artisan), French Dreams (Workman), Irish Dreams (Chronicle), and Italian Dreams (Collins). He has also illustrated the works of prominent figures in the food and travel world, including Frances Mayes, Patricia Wells, and Wolfgang Puck. He lives in St. Helena, California.

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