TITLE: Truly, Madly: Vivien Leigh. Laurence Olivier, and The Romance Of The Century
CHARACTERS: Vivien Leigh & Laurence Olivier
AUTHOR: Stephen Galloway
PUBLICATION DATE: 03/22/22
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N
BOOK SYNOPSIS:
A sweeping and heartbreaking Hollywood biography about the passionate, turbulent marriage of Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh.
In 1934, a friend brought fledgling actress Vivien Leigh to see Theatre Royal, where she would first lay eyes on Laurence Olivier in his brilliant performance as Anthony Cavendish. That night, she confided to a friend, he was the man she was going to marry. There was just one problem: she was already married—and so was he.
TRULY, MADLY is the biography of a marriage, a love affair that still captivates millions, even decades after both actors’ deaths. Vivien and Larry were two of the first truly global celebrities – their fame fueled by the explosive growth of tabloids and television, which helped and hurt them in equal measure. They seemed to have it all and yet, in their own minds, they were doomed, blighted by her long-undiagnosed mental-illness, which transformed their relationship from the stuff of dreams into a living nightmare.
Through new research, including exclusive access to previously unpublished correspondence and interviews with their friends and family, author Stephen Galloway takes readers on a bewitching journey. He brilliantly studies their tempestuous liaison, one that took place against the backdrop of two world wars, the Golden Age of Hollywood and the upheavals of the 1960s — as they struggled with love, loss and the ultimate agony of their parting.
REVIEW:
4.5 Hearts What a great book for any fan of Hollywood’s “it” couple. I have been a fan of Vivien Leigh’s since first seeing her in Gone With The Wind and probably that is where most fans will say they know her from. Laurence Olivier is best known for his stage performances and movies like Wuthering Heights and Spartacus.
Having started as an affair while both married they eventually married each other, suffered through miscarriages, time apart for filming and what would later be diagnosed as bi-polar disorder that was too new to be named but Leigh suffered from. Their relationship was one of romance, passion and tumultuous times.
The book is very thorough and very well researched. You can tell the author wrote from a love of the actors. I enjoyed so much of this book. Sometimes it was a bit wordy and a bit like a lecture but the information is worth the read.
Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
4 Hearts
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