Gielgud

This authoritative biography of John Gielgud deals in fascinating detail with the life and work of the greatest classical actor of the twentieth century. Drawing on recollections of more than a hundred friends and colleagues, Jonathan Croall captures vividly Gielgud's early struggles as an actor, his trail-blazing achievements as a director, actor-manager and interpreter of Shakespeare, and his late flowering in the plays of Pinter, Albee, Storey, Bond and Bennett and as an Oscar-winning movie star. It also uncovers Gielgud's difficult relationship with Laurence Olivier and reveals his courage in the face of a humiliating scandal that threatened to wreck his career. An absorbing portrait of a remarkable actor.