Winner of the Society for Theatre Research Book Prize 2020
Vivien Leigh was perhaps the most iconic actress of the twentieth 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 twentieth century's greatest actresses.

- 376 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
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Table of contents
- Cover
- About the Author
- Epigraph
- Title
- Dedication
- Preamble
- Contents
- List of Plates
- Acknowledgements
- Prologue
- 1. A Child of the Raj
- 2. Hours Nearer Death
- 3. Young Wife and Mother
- 4. Enter Olivier
- 5. Altered States
- 6. Printing a Legend
- 7. Star-Crossed
- 8. Wartime Dramas
- 9. From Sabina to Anna
- 10. Down Under
- 11. The Kindness of Strangers
- 12. Two on the Nile
- 13. Crack-Up
- 14. Avonside
- 15. At Court
- 16. Ending a Legend
- 17. Worlds Elsewhere
- 18. Last Acts
- Epilogue
- Appendix: Facts/False Facts
- Notes on Sources
- Select Bibliography
- Plates
- eCopyright
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Yes, you can access Dark Star by Alan Strachan in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & Film & Video. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.