Gielgud's Letters

by John Gielgud (Author), Richard Mangan (Editor)

• Used

  Paperback
  2005

  $3.25

  'In this comprehensive volume, we see the actor in a range of roles: loving son, wicked gossip, star actor, indecisive director, anguished lover, brilliant anecdotist...This splendid book reveals an infinitely complicated and attractive character. We may not look upon his like again' Jonathan Croall, Spectator The above quotes sums it up - this astonishing collection of letters brings us up close to one of the foremost, and best loved, actors of this century. John Gielgud wrote letters almost every day of his adult life. Whether at home in London or abroad, he delighted in recounting what he felt about events around him. Here for the first time - and not previously available to biographers - are Gielgud's love letters. They show that he was not shy is expressing the intimacies of personal relationships. He also loved gossip and writes about his contemporaries, including the great actors of period: Olivier, Richardson, Redgrave, Peggy Ashcroft, Edith Evans and the like. A revealing account but also a hugely warm and compelling insight into a man of many sides.

• Used

  Hardcover
  2004

  $4.19

  John Gielgud wrote letters almost every day of his adult life. Whether at home in London and later in Buckinghamshire, or acting abroad or on location, he delighted in sitting down each morning and recounting what had been going on and what he felt about events around him. He was still writing just a few days before his death aged 96 in May 2000. His letters are treasured by the recipients and the problem for the editor has been in selection. He wrote in an increasingly idiosyncratic hand and remarked that even he needed a magnifying glass at times to see what he had actually written. Through the letters, which begin with those to his mother, we meet a man who delights in gossip, in describing what he sees and experiences. Here for the first time - and not previously available to biographers - are Gielgud's love letters. They show that he was not shy is expressing the intimacies of personal relationships. Gielgud had a reputation for speaking his mind, and this is evident as he writes about his contemporaries, including the great actors of period: Olivier, Richardson, Redgrave, Peggy Ashcroft, Edith Evans and the like. Here is great letter-writing before the age of e-mail. Gielgud's Letters are a revelation - full of inside information and gossip.