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Dark Star
- A Biography of Vivien Leigh
- Narrated by: Alasdair Buchan
- Length: 15 hrs and 40 mins
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Dark Star
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Summary
Bloomsbury presents Dark Star by Alan Strachan, read by Alasdair Buchan.
Winner of the Society for Theatre Research Book Prize 2020
Vivien Leigh was perhaps the most iconic actress of the 20th century. As Scarlett O’Hara and Blanche Du Bois she took on some of the most pivotal roles in cinema history.
Yet she was also a talented theatre actress with West End and Broadway plaudits to her name. In this ground-breaking new biography, Alan Strachan provides a completely new full-life portrait of Leigh, covering both her professional and personal life. Using previously unseen sources from her archive, recently acquired by the V&A, he sheds new light on her fractious relationship with Laurence Olivier, based on their letters and diaries, as well as on the bipolar disorder which so affected her later life and work.
Revealing new aspects of her early life as well as providing glimpses behind-the-scenes of the filming of Gone with the Wind and A Streetcar Named Desire, this book provides the essential and comprehensive life-story of one of the 20th century’s greatest actresses.
Front cover: Angus McBean Collection, MS Thr 581. © Houghton Library, Harvard University.
Critic reviews
"What makes this account of a familiar story outstanding is that Strachan wins the reader’s trust. As an experienced man of the theatre, he suggests, qualifies and adds interesting views of his own." (The Spectator)
"[Vivien Leigh’s] life, lived to the full at every second, will never be better told than it is in these pages." (The Sunday Times)
"A gripping new biography." (The Daily Mail)
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Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Charlie&Molly
- 02-12-23
A well research biography of Vivien
I’ve long been a big fan of Vivien Leigh, this audiobook has been an absolute delight to listen to
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Goldilocks
- 22-06-22
Best biography on Vivien Leigh
This is the best biography I have read on Vivien Leigh, a fantastic actress and fascinating woman. You can tell that the author has gone through length to research her life and to dig into her many remaining correspondence between Olivier and herself providing a real inside of their relationship. The only thing I can criticise is that the author does not seem too keen on Olivier and often describes him as a highly selfish and dramatic person. This is exasperated by the performance and the partly mocking tone when reading Olivier’s love letters. However, overall a fantastic read!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- ann burke
- 11-01-23
wonderful
Loved it.fabulously narrated.full of detail without being boring .A respectful yet balanced account unlike others.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- polonius
- 15-08-22
nice story
big English words through out was boring in places as long-winded narrative not bad. Her life was intriguing
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- MRS M R SOUTO
- 17-10-20
Too long...
This book would be the perfect read if shorter. I lost interest two thirds of the way through...
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1 person found this helpful