|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Biography/Autobiography
|
   |
| Click
here for current Biography / Autobiography
titles on ABE
Will open in a new window - prices in UK Pounds. |
| Read
no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory. Benjamin Disraeli I don't think anyone should write their autobiography until after they're dead. Samuel Goldwyn |
| Selected Titles: |
 |
Eric Gill - A Lover's Quest for Art and God Fiona MacCarthy William Abrahams 1st 1989 Eric Gill was perhaps the greatest English artist-craftsman of the twentieth-century, typographer and lettercutter of genius and a master in the art of sculpture and wood engraving. He was a worthy heir to William Morris, whose ideals and philosophy he admired. He believed in integration of craftsmanship and industry, art and religion, flesh and spirit. But integration proved more an ideal than a reality in a life where paradox and contradiction were never far from the surface. Surrounded by loving disciples, he was the dominant force in three devout Catholic arts-and-crafts communes, each of which began in harmony and ended in disarray, largely because of his fickle and quarrelsome nature. He was also a devoted husband and father, whose succession of mistresses and affairs is startling even now; and it is clear that incest with his sisters and daughters was part of the pattern. Gill once said, 'I do not see how my kind of life ... could be written without intimate details.' Fiona MacCarthy is the first writer to respond fully to his challenge, drawing on the amazingly candid record he kept - sometimes in code — in his hitherto unpublished diaries. In her masterly biography, which combines perceptiveness and sound judgement with objective analysis and an ability to weld huge quantities of disparate material into a seamless whole, she faces the problems and contradictions squarely, casting unexpected new light on Gill the man and Gill the artist, and placing him in the context of his time. Ultimately, she concludes, Gill was a tragic figure beneath his ebullience and charm, a missionary manque, who none the less changed the lives of many of his contemporaries irrevocably. 8vo. Very minor wear to dustwrapper edges, black line to bottom edge of pages. From the library of the late artist Brian O'Toole and signed by him in pencil on the front free endpaper. 860 gms £25.00 |
|
The
Deanna Durbin Fairy Tale W E Mills Riverstone 1st 1996 During the 1930s and '40s Universal Studios produced a series of films which were acclaimed throughout the world for their originality and evocation of a fairy-tale realm of love and innocence. Of all the artists who contributed to the success of those films, none was more appealing or inspiring than the young Deanna Durbin, as much for her natural acting abilities as for her magnificent soprano voice. In this book W.
E. Mills offers a wonderful celebration of the twenty-one films that
comprised her glittering career, casting a sensitive and warmly nostalgic
eye over the performances that made her a star, as well as the age that
can be seen to have prompted them — from the memorable `Three
Smart Girls', which hit the cinema screen in 1936, to such silverscreen
classics as `First Love', `Nice Girl' and `That Certain Age'. Against
the background of the war years, Deanna Durbin evoked an aura of innocence
that people desperately wanted to recapture. To many, that appeal is
timeless. |
 |
 |
'Cos I'm A Fool Norman Wisdom Breedon Books 1st 1996 NORMAN WISDOM. Two words that are guaranteed to bring a smile to even the most unyielding face. Not that life has always been a bundle of laughs for Britain's favourite funnyman. He recalls a childhood in which he was often barefoot on the streets of London, filching food to avoid starvation. But in this book, the second part of his autobiography, Norman dwells rather more on the happier side of his life, his personal triumphs, his encounters with other legends of showbusiness, among them Laurel and Hardy, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, George Robey, Charlie Chaplin, Gracie Fields and countless others right up to the young of today whom Norman admires. He talks of fun on the film sets, frustration on the golf course, adulation in Albania, the chill of Chernobyl and presents many anecdotes of both chaos and comfort. In 1996, Norman Wisdom celebrated his 50th anniversary as a professional entertainer. He is still going strong in films, television, radio and his favourite place - the theatre. But for how much
longer? Norman's surprising revelation lies within this book - 'Cos
I'm a Fool. |
|
No
Laughing Matter Anthony Cronin Fromm International 1st 1998 During his all-too-brief lifetime, Flann O'Brien was read by a small but fanatically faithful coterie of readers, including James Joyce, Dylan Thomas, Graham Greene, and William Saroyan. Now, more than thirty years after his death, his reputation is growing, if not by leaps and bounds, then at least by Gaelic fits and starts. But that is what O'Brien, one of the most complex, contradictory, and cantankerous authors of his time, would have expected. For he is one of the most difficult of writers to pin down, partly or primarily as a result of his having carefully carved himself into three people, all of whom he used, when necessary, to hide behind. As Flann O'Brien he wrote several novels that for their technical precocity, exuberant prose, and sparkling invention, have been proclaimed among the finest of the modern period, and which led The Washington Post to call O'Brien "Ireland's finest novelist after Joyce:" as Myles na Gopaleen ("Miles of the Little Ponies") he wrote for twenty-five years a wildly imaginative newspaper column for The Irish Times called Cruiskeen Lawn, which may have no contemporary equal in any language and which no less a judge than S.J. Perelman called the "funniest newspaper feature ever published;" as Brian O'Nolan, the name on his birth certificate, he held down a responsible job in the bureaucracy of the Irish Government. 8vo. Mint in a VG++ wrapper. 590 gms £15.00 |
 |
 |
The
Autobiography |
|
Bananas
Forever -
Kenny Everett and me Cleo Rocos Virgin 1st 1998 Cleo Rocos was Kenny Everett's best and closest friend — a companion and soulmate who shared his boundless energy and extrovert sense of fun. Cleo first met Kenny when she was fifteen. She was having lunch at the BBC with a friend when she was spotted by the Head of Light Entertainment and asked to audition for The Kenny Everett Show. They met on set during filming and immediately struck up a unique friendship which would last until Kenny's tragic death in 1995. For over fifteen years they worked together, played together and travelled all over the world, sharing a host of bizarre experiences and a fund of fun and laughter in a way that only two people who hold each other in the deepest of affection can ever possibly hope to do. Cleo has often been asked to write a book about the time she spent with Kenny but waited until she felt the time was right to give his many fans and friends a lasting memento of his life. In this affectionate tribute to the playmate and colleague she adored, she recalls with great warmth the time they spent together, capturing all of the humour, the charm, the imagination and the energy which made their friendship so very special. 8vo. Small bump to the top edge of the front board, couple of tiny chips to the top edge of the dustwrapper, otherwise the book is in VG++ condition in a VG++ wrapper. Scarce. 560 gms £45.00 |
 |
| TOP |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|