Maggie Smith
The definitive biography of the iconic award-winning actor
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4.2 • 5 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
'Coveney is the only writer who could get under Smith's skin, capturing her steeliness and vulnerability' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
From West End comedy to Alan Bennett, Harry Potter to Downton Abbey, Academy Award-winning actor Dame Maggie Smith cemented herself as one of Britain's best-loved figures over a career spanning seven decades.
But despite her public stature, Smith was an enigmatic figure for much of her life, rarely appearing in public and carefully guarding her considerable talent. Drawing on personal archives, interviews and encounters with the actress, as well as conversations with immediate family and dear friends, Michael Coveney's biography is a captivating portrait of the real Maggie Smith: the closest biography ever written of one of acting's greats.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This hagiography of the Downton Abbey and Harry Potter star is an updated and expanded edition of an earlier effort by theater critic Coveney: Maggie Smith: A Bright Particular Star, published in 1994. More turns out to be less for this overwritten biography, which says much but reveals very little about the actor, who rarely gives interviews. Coveney recounts detailed plot summaries of many of Smith's plays and films, consistently emphasizing how extraordinary Smith is in each production. When the author himself isn't gushing, he's quoting other admirers, including playwrights Tom Stoppard, Edward Albee, and Anthony Shaffer; costars Michael Palin and John Moffatt; and director Jack Clayton. There are some nice examples of Smith's withering wit, but this volume never delivers much insight into the "tragic intensity" and "technical skill" that makes her stage and screen roles so unforgettable. While the book covers Smith's upbringing in Oxford, schooling, and initial career, as well as her seven-year marriage to actor Robert Stephens, these episodes are bogged down with minutiae that bore rather than illuminate. Fans of Smith may not be able to resist a biography of her, but they will likely be disappointed by this one.
Customer Reviews
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