Vivien: The Life of Vivien Leigh by Alexander Walker
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Book Reviews of Vivien: The Life of Vivien Leigh
Book Review: A sensitive, beautifully written biography
Summary: 5 Stars
Before I begin my remarks, let me refer you to the review "Life in turmoil" by E.A.Solinas because it is excellent and will give you a very fine analysis of "Vivien."
She was beautiful and highly intelligent, but brittle and as hyper as a caged cat walking back and forth back and forth in its cage. The cage in Vivien's life was her illness, the manic depression that drove her from depths of depression to a state of exaltation, and the exaltation was not always appropriate. She could not free herself from the cage but as an attempt to escape, perhaps, she submerged herself in the characters she played on the stage and in Hollywood and when she was acting she was Scarlett O'Hara or Lady Hamilton or Cleopatra or Blanche DuBois..
Vivien was not Scarlett O'Hara in real life although her marvelous performance, which won an Oscar, will always be the definitive Scarlett. Scarlett was a survivor and the collapse of the South in the Civil War made her more ruthless, more greedy, more insensitive. You never feel sorry for Scarlett O'Hara. Vivien was much closer in character to Blanche DuBois of "A Streetcar Named Desire" because both Blanche and Vivien collapsed in the face of mental illness. Vivien's portrayal of Blanche won her her second Oscar and Blanche as Vivien played her is the definitive Blanche- Vivien made both of these roles her own. There is one respect however, in which Vivien was Scarlett to the core: Scarlett was sure she will get Rhett back and as author Alexander Walker observes "To her dying day I don't think Vivien believed Olivier was beyond recall."
Vivien was subjected to many electric shock treatments to try and control her violent mood swings. This treatment sometimes but not always resulted in some improvement of her moods, but manic depression is a very debilitating disorder. She was on an emotional razor's edge and husband Laurence Olivier got to the point that he could no longer handle her and the great love that he had felt for her simply eroded because he couldn't cope with the volatile situation. And as the world's greatest actor he had climbed a pinnacle that she couldn't scale and they were no longer on the same plane. Olivier was undoubtedly glad as well as relieved when Vivien took as her lover Peter Finch, which more or less let Olivier off the hook. Olivier was knighted and Vivien loved being Lady Olivier but the marriage was not salvageable. They had been a wonderfully glamorous couple.
Vivien died not from mental illness but from tuberculosis, which is rather astounding in this day and age. Her lungs filled with fluid and she could not breathe. Horribly, she was alone. Her death was tragically unexpected and millions around the world mourned her. This story of Vivien's extremely rich life is put before you with great sensitivity, and as you reach the end of this superior biography you may feel that you know Vivien better than she knew herself. The writing is very fine and filled with wonderful descriptions, insights and an incredible amount of detail, a vast tapestry expertly woven together. Vivien was the definitive Scarlett O'Hara and the definitive Blanche DuBois, and writer Walker's "Vivien" is the definitive Vivien Leigh.
Book Review: A life in turmoil
Summary: 5 Stars
"Vivien" is proof positive that there can be a well-written, well-researched, realistic yet understanding biography of a messed-up star. This book could have been a sordid tangle of tabloid sensationalism, but Alexander Walker carefully crafts it into a tapestry.Vivien Leigh was one of the most memorable actresses of the twentieth century, playing the headstrong Scarlett O'Hara. Yet Vivien was not as strong or indomitable as she appeared onscreen. The book starts with a poetic interlude during a peaceful time in her life, with several guests attending a dinner, then shifts back to her girlhood. Her first marriage fell as her fame rose, and she soon met the man she would fall in love with, her also-married costar Lawrence Olivier. But Vivien's life, despite her fame and idyllic life, was never a happy woman, her mental problems plaguing her to the end of her life.
Very few authors are able to strike a balance between admiration and reality; they'll either idolize the object of their biography, or pour vitriol on them. Walker does neither. While he acknowledges Vivien's faults, he also seems to care about her and her struggles. Nothing could more poignantly convey Vivien's pain than when she shrieked at a nurse, "I'm not Scarlett, I'm Blanche!" (Blanche being a character she played who went mad).
Vivien herself is a vivid presence from the first pages onward. Her struggles with mental illness are done with great delicacy, as is her relationship with Olivier. He himself is almost as strong a presence, even though he ultimately could not stay with her; another impressive real-life presence is Jack Merivale, the understanding younger man who remained with her until her untimely death. The scene where Merivale brings Olivier to his dead ex-wife's beside is another extremely effective anecdote.
The writing style is lush for a biography. Quite uniquely, there is also a lot of focus on Vivien's movies as well as her personal life, especially her dogged pursuit of roles that she desperately wanted to play. The pictures are well-suited for this book -- they're clear, elegant, well-laid out, relevant to the different parts of Vivien's life, and balanced well between her on-screen roles and her personal life. Walker keeps these pictures of her roles grounded by mentioning what was going on in Vivien's life while she filmed the movie.
Alexander Walker's biography of Vivien Leigh is a treasure for all of her fans. Without being sordid ior adoring, he creates a believable biography about a troubled, talented and passionate actress. Outstanding read.
Book Review: THE LIFE OF VIVIEN LEIGH
Summary: 5 Stars
As intriguing, complex and mysteriously serene as the woman it celebrates, Alexander Walker's "Vivien: The Life of Vivien Leigh" is the capital biography that the beloved actress has long deserved.Known for her breathtaking work in the films "Gone With the Wind" and "A Streetcar Named Desire", Walker's story reveals a woman who was, in essence, both Scarlett O'Hara and Blanche DuBois: a charming, stubborn, headstrong woman and fragile, uncertain human being. Leigh's story is chronicled from her early childhood years in India, to the pretty young girl who passionately desired to be an actress, to the woman who left a husband and child to court Laurence Olivier, to the movie star that the world fell in love with.
Leigh's success as a Hollywood actress and storybook romance with Olivier would prove temporarily satisfying for a woman who craved more than she had: more love, more adoration, to be more sure of herself... and both would become catalysts in the snapping of her delicate mental balance. Leigh's fragile state of mind bewildered the husband whom she lived for, and the costars who could never speak more fondly of her. Ultimately, Leigh seems never to have had the security that she so desperately wanted, but somehow managed to make it as long as she did.
And the book reveals a lighter side of Leigh, an intellectual, witty lady who was charming and indeed beautiful to many who knew her, and could also have a very tart sense of humor when it suited her. She was an actress always expanding her range, from London melodramas to Hollywood epics to Broadway musicals.
Yet through it all, Leigh retained her quiet dignity and serenity until the day she died, leaving behind an extraordinary legacy of films, appearances, and memories... shared for the first time in this extraordinary, meticulously researched biography, which perfectly captures the essence of the woman who was Vivien Leigh, the woman, Vivien Leigh, the movie star, and Vivien Leigh, the human being. As enchanting and unforgettable as Leigh herself, "Vivien: The Life of Vivien Leigh" will be enjoyed and savored by those touched by Leigh's talent and who will always love her.
Book Review: Classic example of what a bio should be
Summary: 5 Stars
VIVIEN is a remarkable biography. Alexander Walker clearly approached his subject with sympathy, but it didn't cloud his objectivity in presenting a portrait of Vivien Leigh that is fair and objective.
Exhaustively researched, Walker had access to Leigh's papers and was able to interview Leigh's family, friends, and contemporaries and flesh out a very real story that resonates with this reader.
Vivien Leigh's story is probably as interesting as her most compelling stage and screen roles. While Leigh had a fairly normal upbringing for an upper middle class girl in her time, she had a restless nature that lead her initially to the theater and later movies and from that point on her life was anything but normal. She had an early marriage which was probably a big mistake as she continued to evolve from a child-wife to an actress. Her only child was raised by her ex-husband. She became Scarlett O'Hara which was a career defining role and married Laurence Olivier after a tempetuous and scandalous affair. Leigh triumphed as an actress and she and Olivier became the 'in' acting couple, but at a certain point things began to unravel at an alarming rate. Plagued by manic depression, miscarriages, and out-of-control behavior, she was involved in numerous infidelities and the marriage to Olivier collapsed. Poor health plagued her and near the end she settled into a quieter life until death claimed her at a relatively early age.
What I particularly liked about this book was the amount of research that Walker did as he approached his subject. There weren't any gaps in time and he was able to document what was going on in Leigh's life at any given time. He managed to get under her skin and I had the feeling that he came to know Leigh better than anyone had on a personal level. I guess it might be said that he was able to put the pieces of Leigh's life together and complete the puzzle.
This book is a biography which reads like a novel, but avoids being judgemental. I'd recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Vivien Leigh or interested in movies and/or movie actors.
Book Review: Tell-All Tale of a Wonderful Woman
Summary: 5 Stars
Try to keep "pretty" and "beautiful" out of your descriptions of Vivien Leigh. She couldn't stand those words. "Too limiting," she told someone. Alexander Walker captured this and many other oddities and about Vivien Leigh in his vivid biography of the woman who stunned the nation by going from virtually unknown to loved by all after starring in the movie "Gone With the Wind." Little did anyone suspect the star of this movie battled with bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depression. Walker describes her battle and how the mentally-unstable character Blanche Dubois in the stage and, later, movie productions of "Streetcar Named Desire" pretty adequately reflected Vivien's real state of mind.When an actor or actress can become as great as Vivien Leigh and still fight with an illness like mental affliction, it makes readers care even more for the person behind the role. This book made me feel protective of Vivien Leigh, as Walker mentions her supporting actors and actresses did, despite Vivien's occasional manic rages.
Walker's book sheds light on Vivien's psyche, her movies and plays, her relationship with Sir Laurence Olivier, and her affairs both during this relationship and during her first, to Leigh Holman, the man whose first name became her last.