Review by Booklist Review
Unlike the usual celebrity biography, this is not a sensational tell-all. Instead, Spence (The Mitford Girls' Guide to Life, 2013) offers a sensitively drawn portrait of a Hollywood icon whose on-screen persona belied the troubled woman who struggled with mental illness. Leigh (1913--67) may be best known for her Academy Award-winning roles as Scarlett O'Hara in the 1939 adaptation of Margaret Mitchell's novel Gone with the Wind and Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire, the 1951 film based on the play by Tennessee Williams. Also known for her stage work, she made a number of appearances with her second husband, Sir Laurence Olivier. In 1953, she was diagnosed with manic depression and suffered a nervous breakdown. She was subjected to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), a brutal treatment once prescribed for her condition and died at the age of 53 from tuberculosis. Drawing from numerous letters and personal papers, Spence starts with the events of 1953 and weaves back and forth through the high and low points, juxtaposing Leigh's life and work on stage and screen.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Biographer Spence (Cast a Diva) delivers a moving account of British actor Vivien Leigh's struggle with mental illness in the 14 years before her death from tuberculosis at age 53 in 1967. Beginning with Leigh's 1953 mental breakdown while filming Elephant Walk in Ceylon, Spence recounts how the actor was subsequently dismissed from the movie, admitted to a London psychiatric hospital, and diagnosed with what was then called manic depression. Spence chronicles how Leigh sought to salvage her marriage to actor Laurence Olivier--who, engaged in an affair and overwhelmed by the demands of Leigh's illness, divorced her in 1960--and rebuild her career as her symptoms waxed and waned (during a 1960 performance of the play Duel of Angels, burn marks from electroconvulsive therapy were visible on Leigh's temples). Flashbacks to Leigh's younger days recreate her childhood in India, her passionless first marriage to barrister Leigh Holman, and her strained relationship with her daughter, whom she had with Holman when she was 19 and ceded custody of after secretly marrying Olivier in 1940. Spence has a novelist's flair for pacing and detail, though the afterword discussing what Leigh's spirit allegedly told her medium about her thwarted plans for the future will raise some eyebrows. Still, Spence succeeds in bringing Leigh to vivid life. (Jan.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Much has been written about actor Vivien Leigh, but this is the first biography to include an afterword containing channeled messages from Vivien's spirit to her friend, psychic medium Sybil Leek. Spence (Cast a Diva: The Hidden Life of Maria Callas) begins in 1953 with Leigh's affair with actor Peter Finch, her mental health crisis, and her diagnosis of bipolar disorder. But Spence sprinkles flashbacks to Leigh's earlier life throughout. Born in Darjeeling, India, in 1913, she started performing early and always wanted to be an actor. She won two Best Actress Oscars (as Scarlett O'Hara in 1939's Gone with the Wind and Blanche DuBois in 1951's A Streetcar Named Desire) and was considered one of the most beautiful women of her time. She was famously married to British actor Laurence Olivier, though the marriage ended in heartbreak. Her doctors arguably mismanaged her mental illness, and she never really recovered. She died at the age of 53 in 1967 after a severe bout of tuberculosis. VERDICT With a wealth of unpublished juicy material that celebrity mavens will devour, this is a moving and tragic story of how mental illness derailed a stellar career.--Rosellen "Rosy" Brewer
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The famous actress confronts her mental demons. Drawing on unpublished material, historian Spence aims to go deep into her subject's life. She writes that her goal is authenticity and a "theatrical air with symbolism and subtext" in order to "give Vivien her power back." Spence begins her biography of the two-time Academy Award winner in 1953, when Leigh (1913-1967) had a nervous breakdown and was diagnosed with manic depression. Leigh was in Ceylon making a film with Peter Finch. She really didn't want to do the movie, was miserable, and missed her husband, Sir Laurence Olivier, resulting in an affair with Finch. Both Leigh and Olivier were married before they first met and had affairs going on. Spence's storytelling technique is to go into detail--how people feel, what they say and even think--as she describes Leigh's falling to pieces. After returning to Hollywood, Leigh's condition worsened. She was hospitalized in London, receiving electroconvulsive therapy treatments. Throughout, Spence intermittently touches on Leigh's earlier years, her family, and previous roles. This back and forth sometimes makes for a bumpy ride. In 1955, her "mental health was on a downward spiral" while she was trying to rekindle her relationship with Finch; she did, which Olivier accepted amid his own flings. After a miscarriage and filmingAnna Karenina, she fell into a deep depression, and her tuberculosis was making her ill. In 1958, Olivier was now in love with Joan Plowright and wanted a divorce. Leigh was experiencing more manic episodes and endured more ECT. Two years later, she gave in to Olivier. Spence shows her final years as sad ones, fraught with psychosis and stage fright, dying at 53 in 1967 from chronic pulmonary tuberculosis. An unconventional biography some will love and others will shake their heads at. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
