Vivien: The Life of Vivien Leigh by Alexander Walker
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Book Reviews of Vivien: The Life of Vivien Leigh
Book Review: Amazing Biographer
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this book! I think a lot of biographies are boring, without a lot of real insight into the person's character. This one was fun and entertaining all the way through, and didn't go on too much with details we don't care about. Great look into a fascinating lady.Book Review: FANTASTIC!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this book for my wife. She had it before and lost it. I couldn't understand why she would want to have it again. She says its the most accurate account of Vivien Leigh's life. She said it had to be in her collection. If you are a fan...you must own this book.Book Review: More than Scarlett
Summary: 5 Stars
Extrordinary biography on a very interesting person. I've read many books on famous actors and this is one of my favorites. Vivien was a very driven, kind, and beautiful person that was haunted by many adversities untill her untimley death from tuberculosis.Book Review: Great!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I love Vivien Leigh, so this book was quite fascinating to me. She certainly had a full life. Sometimes though, I felt a little sorry for her.Book Review: An Engaging Biography About A Celebrity....
Summary: 4 Stars
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In this seemingly fair and accurate portrait, common pitfalls of a celebrity biography are avoided, such as a gossipy tone, sensationalism, and gushing admiration. Such writing shows respectable restraint, as Miss Leigh's life has all the makings for a tawdry tale.
The only faults are that at times the business end of Ms. Leigh's career is overemphasized, such as contract and agent negotiations. However, facts more interesting to a movie fan take up less space. For example, there are only a few backstage stories on the making of "Gone With the Wind", with even less on "A Streetcar Named Desire". One interesting story told is that Vivien Leigh refused to perform Scarlett O'Hara's retching sounds, as it would be undignified.Olivia De Haviland therefore filled in the sounds. Perhaps the author felt this kind of backstage story is available elsewhere and does not belong in a biography. Though I accept that, I would have preferred more backstage stories than the business end of Ms. Leigh's career, which slowed down the reading.
Also, Ms. Leigh's erratic behavior is often understated. Some incidents are told as if a friend was telling you dinner recipes, then informs you that her daughter set fire to the school, followed by more recipes. In the way you would say, "She did what?" to your friend, I found myself rereading certain paragraphs, because I did not fully capture the extent of Miss Leigh's behaviour on a first read due to its factual presentation. More vivid descriptions would have been appropriate, without necessarily being sensationalistic.
Perhaps the author was too restrained for this fan of both movies and Vivien Leigh. But I felt this to be a worthwhile read, because more importantly, I felt as though I had gotten to know Ms. Leigh, as a woman who loved deeply, suffered much, worked hard and at times acted thoughtlessly, while happening to act in movies.