Vivien Leigh: A Biography by Michelangelo Capua
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Book Summary Author: Michelangelo Capua Edition: Paperback Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published) Published: 2003-05-06 ISBN: 0786414979 Number of pages: 224 Publisher: McFarland & Company |
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Book Reviews of the Vivien Leigh: A Biography
Customer Review: There are better biographies
Summary: 2 Stars
This short biography of Vivien Leigh will satisfy those looking for information about the bare bones of Vivien Leigh's career and some of the tabloid gossip surrounding her life but it never comes close to understanding who Vivien Leigh really was, what made her tick, and what made her a great star.
The problem with this biography is that it merely quotes verbatim what other biographies have already written, and when it does not it paraphrases. There is nothing to suggest the author thought deeply about his subject, no assessment of her achievements and flaws, no evaluation and little description- the information is regurgitated and presented like a high school research project. It fails in getting to the crux of Vivien's illness, her manic depression, or explaining her conflict with religious upbringing, or her worship for Laurence Olivier and the grand romancisatiion of their affair. There is scant meaningful historical context to go by, which, in a biography of someone who died almost 40 years ago, is everything to someone reading today. The writing style is also woefully adolescent, a fact you may have to forgive given this is a translation. For those looking for photographs, the selection is disappointingly stingy.
However, thankfully there are better biographies out there. I recommend Alexander Walker's excellent haunting portrayal of Vivien.