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Sir Alec Guinness was one the greatest actors of the twentieth century. With a talent recognised by discerning critics from his very first appearance on the stage he gained a world-wide reputation playing roles on the screen such Fagin in OLIVER TWIST and THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT. His performance as Colonel Nicholson in BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI won him an Oscar and in his later years he captivated a new generation of admirers as George Smiley in TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY and Ben Kenobi in STAR WARS. Guinness was a man who vigorously guarded his privacy and, despite publishing an autobiography, BLESSINGS IN DISGUISE, and two volumes of his diaries, he remained an enigma to the general public and a mystery even to his family and closest friends. After his death in August, 2000, his widow Merula asked the author Piers Paul Read, who had been a friend of her husband, to write his biography. Given full co-operation by the Guinness family and free access to Sir Alec's papers, including his private and unpublished diaries, Read has written a penetrating and perceptive account of an intriguing and complex man.
- Sales Rank: #672471 in Books
- Brand: Brand: Simon n Schuster
- Published on: 2005-06-21
- Released on: 2005-06-21
- Format: Deckle Edge
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.25" h x 1.72" w x 6.25" l, 1.99 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 640 pages
- Used Book in Good Condition
From Publishers Weekly
When Guinness died in 2000, his widow designated Read (Alive!) as the actor's authorized biographer, and the results are mixed. Read doesn't allow his friendship with Guinness to interfere with an honest account of some unsavory aspects of the actor's personality (e.g., his frequent cruelty to his wife). But Read's treatment of his subject's professional career is spotty—while Guinness's early years in London theater are well represented, some of his best films from the 1950s are barely mentioned, and even his most famous role, as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars and its sequels, gets less than 10 pages. Instead, Read offers repeated, lengthy speculations about his subject's sexuality. Anecdotal evidence and cryptic diary entries do suggest Guinness may have wrestled with an attraction to men, and might even on occasion have acted upon it and felt guilty afterward, but the issue probably doesn't require quite so much attention. Read fares better in discussing other aspects of Guinness's emotional life, including his ambivalence toward the mother who conceived him out of wedlock, and an adult conversion to Roman Catholicism. Readers hoping for the usual celebrity biography filled with the star's encounters with other stars, however, will likely be disappointed. B&w photos.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"A deeply intelligent work, full of humanity and passion."-- "The Independent on Sunday"
About the Author
Piers Paul Read is the author of thirteen acclaimed novels, most recently Alice in Exile, and four works of non-fiction, among them a history of the crusading order, The Templars, and the international bestseller Alive! Past novels have won the Hawthornden Prize and the Geoffrey Faber, Somerset Maugham and James Tait Black Awards. He lives in London.
Most helpful customer reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful.
Alec Guinness: The Authorized Biography
By SusieQ
I found this to be an outstanding biography of Alec Guinness, the man and the actor. I have to say I don't really understand the objections that the Publisher's Weekly blurb (directly above) raises about this biography: "Read's treatment of his subject's professional career is spotty... some of his best films from the 1950's are barely mentioned." Huh? There's more than just adequate coverage of Guinness's 1950's films (and films from other decades). Read describes the directors and other personalities involved; he describes Guinness's performances and how they were received by critics both at the time, and later.
"Readers hoping for the usual celebrity biography filled with the star's encounters with other stars...will be disappointed." GOOD, I say! This biography offers us much, much more than that kind of shallowness. There are no mere "encounters" here, thankfully, but many warm friendships.
And I, for one, can live comfortably with less than 10 pages about Obi-Wan. Alec Guinness's life and career are worth much more than that one role.
I didn't find any "repeated, lengthy speculations about his subject's sexuality" here. Just a kind of caring, gently worded, non-blatant exploration of the question of bisexuality or homosexuality. It was apparently a lifelong conflict, so naturally the biographer would have to raise the issue more than once as the subject's life went on. I prefer the fact that this author presents Mr. Guinness's whole life in "shades of gray", as opposed to reducing it to a black or white, definitive - he was this/he was that. No man's life, especially sex life, can be summed up with that kind of ease.
Guinness was a conflicted man and a very unhappy man at times. He frequently made those closest to him unhappy too, but he was living with the hand he was dealt by his birth and the experiences of his childhood. His conversion to Catholicism, and the way he incorporated; actively tried, to live his Catholic faith (even in his doubtful periods) is described very thoroughly and affectingly. However, I can't help thinking (and regretting) that his times and his character didn't allow Guinness to seek out a therapist. Talking and working with a therapist might have alleviated at least some of the inner torments Catholicism couldn't reach.
This sometimes makes for sad reading, especially when one sees how 'un-faithfully', cruelly, he could treat his friends and family. Yet his religion apparently did provide him with comfort, and a guiding power. As the author mentions, and I paraphrase: Evelyn Waugh was noted to say that he recognized he was an unpleasant man, but without Catholicism he would have been much worse. Guinness agreed with that as regards himself.
Finally, I don't understand the Amazon reviewer who said that Merula Guinness must have commissioned Mr. Read to write this authorized biography to "get a bit of her own back" (i.e., revenge herself?). If that were so (and she was way above that, in any case) she would have chosen a hack writer. This biography is so much more than a hack job.
Mr. Read presents his subject's life articulately in a readable, engrossing, and revelatory (in the best sense) manner. Highly recommended.
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful.
A sad look at the personal life of a legendary actor
By Bookreporter
Alec Guinness's career spanned generations. Great-grandparents might recall his days on the British stage. Grandparents may have seen such classics as The Bridge on the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia. Younger cinemaphiles still picture him as Obi Wan Kenobi in Star Wars.
Like most actors, Guinness had more than his share of success with a few clinkers thrown in. Piers Paul Read reveals the enormity of his life's work, along with a massive account of Sir Alec's personal side, in ALEC GUINNESS: The Authorised Biography.
Read, author of more than a dozen books, has done a huge amount of research, culling letters and journals from Guinness and his extended Guinness family, as well as a large circle of friends and acquaintances, to produce an intimate portrait of one of the greatest actors --- along with fellow Englishmen Olivier and Gielgud --- of stage, screen and television.
Guinness came from humble roots. His mother was an alcoholic who never married his father and became an embarrassment to the celebrity as he grew older. It was a stigma that no doubt weighed heavily on him as a young man and beyond, and formed his persona. He was at the same time generous and tight with his money, easily offended but quick to make friends. These paradoxes form the main theme for ALEC GUINNESS.
He found a soul mate in his wife, Merula, to whom he would be married for more than forty years, but once their son, Matthew, was born, their conjugal relationship was non-existent. Nevertheless, she was the perfect partner, casting a blind eye to his moodiness and confusing behavior, especially when it came to Guinness's "infatuations" with pretty young men.
Read is very careful in his phraseology, employing language such as "While there is no evidence whatsoever of a sexual relationship between Alex and this, or indeed, any other man..." and "The exact nature of Alec's sexuality, however, is not at all clear." Such refusal on the part of the author to take a stand can be infuriating, since so much of this psycho-biography is devoted to Guinness's "leanings."
Perhaps as a method to fight his demons, the actor sought refuge in religion, converting to Catholicism and putting great stock in his friendships with priests and nuns. A significant portion of the book flips back and forth between the sacred and the profane, so to speak, with Read reporting dozens of instances of behavior that can only be viewed as questionable, despite the fact that Guinness does not seem to have ever acted on his confusing urges. "It would seem...that Alec felt disordered passions could be controlled, if not cured, by prayer, repentance and the Grace of God. Yet he was never able to detach himself altogether from his homosexual alter-ego."
As can be expected from books of this type, the author covers the major accomplishments in his subject's life, for which movie fans can be grateful. The details can get a bit much; the book no doubt could have been shorter than its 600-plus pages but no less interesting had Read omitted copious recounts of how much Guinness spent on hotel rooms or lunches.
Ultimately, ALEC GUINNESS is a sad book. One has the feeling that between the sexual situation, concerns over finances, and relationships with family and friends --- and despite all of the artistic accomplishments --- Sir Alec was rarely truly happy. Read makes us actually feel sorry for the legendary actor.
--- Reviewed by Ron Kaplan (...)
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
GUINNESS COMES TO LIFE
By kip
This may well be the best biography I have ever read. I loved it from cover to cover, because the author does such a wonderful job of bringing Guinness to life and bringing out all of his good points, foibles, and contradictions. It is an incredibly thorough biography, well-researched, and truly balanced. The author loves Guinness, but the book comes nowhere near being a hagiography. I especially love how the author weaves Guinness's spiritual journey throughout the narrative, and Guinness's struggle with his homosexual feelings as a Roman Catholic. It is a fascinating, fascinating read. I frequently get it off the shelf and re-read various parts of it. I cannot recommend it highly enough!!
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