Since her death at the age of nineteen in 1431, Joan of Arc has maintained a remarkable hold on our collective imagination. She was a teenager of astonishing common sense and a national heroine who led men in to battle as a courageous warrior. Yet she was also abandoned by the king whose coronation she secured, betrayed by her countrymen, and sold to the enemy. In this meticulously researched landmark biography, Donald Spoto captures her astonishing life and the times in which she lived. Neither wife nor nun, queen nor noblewoman, philosopher nor stateswoman, Joan of Arc demonstrates that...
Since her death at the age of nineteen in 1431, Joan of Arc has maintained a remarkable hold on our collective imagination. She was a teenager of a...
Acclaimed biographer Spoto strips away the legends from the life of Francis of Assisi to reveal the true story of a man who has too often been obscured by pious iconography.
Acclaimed biographer Spoto strips away the legends from the life of Francis of Assisi to reveal the true story of a man who has too often been obscure...
This is the first complete, critical biography of Tennessee Williams (1911-1983), one of America's finest playwrights and the author of (among many important works) The Glass Menagerie, Summer and Smoke, A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Suddenly Last Summer, and The Night of the Iguana. Award-winning biographer Donald Spoto gives us not only a full and accurate account of Williams's life, he also reveals the intimate connections between the playwright's personal dramas and his remarkably autobiographical art. From his birth into a genteel Southern family, through...
This is the first complete, critical biography of Tennessee Williams (1911-1983), one of America's finest playwrights and the author of (among many im...
Spoto's biography of Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe makes use of over 150 interviews and more than 35,000 pages of previously sealed files, including Monroe's diaries, letters, and other personal and revealing documents. The book reveals new details of every aspect of her life, from her guarded childhood, and her relationships with men and marriages, to her mysterious death. Spoto comments on previous books about Marilyn, and puts to rest questions regarding Monroe's connection with the Kennedys.
Spoto's biography of Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe makes use of over 150 interviews and more than 35,000 pages of previously sealed files, including M...
Born in Brussels in 1929, Audrey Hepburn was the daughter of a British father and a Dutch Baroness. After a few West End musicals and minor film parts, she was spotted by the author, Colette, to star in a stage version of her novel, "Gigi". And then Audrey
Born in Brussels in 1929, Audrey Hepburn was the daughter of a British father and a Dutch Baroness. After a few West End musicals and minor film parts...
"Fascinating . . . probes an even darker side of Hitchcock." -"Newsday" It is remarkable how infrequently, over a period of more than fifty years, Alfred Hitchcock spoke about the legendary actresses he directed-including Ingrid Bergman, Kim Novak, and Grace Kelly. But his leading ladies greatly enriched his films, and many of them achieved international stardom precisely because of their work for Hitchcock. Rich with new material, anecdotes, and never-before-told personal observations, this explosive portrait details Hitchcock's outbursts of cruelty, the shocking humor, and the odd...
"Fascinating . . . probes an even darker side of Hitchcock." -"Newsday" It is remarkable how infrequently, over a period of more than fifty years,...
Drawing on his unprecedented access to Grace Kelly, bestselling biographer Donald Spoto at last offers an intimate, honest, and authoritative portrait of one of Hollywood's legendary actresses. In just seven years-from 1950 through 1956-Grace Kelly embarked on a whirlwind career that included roles in eleven movies. From the principled Amy Fowler Kane in High Noon to the thrill-seeking Frances Stevens of To Catch a Thief, Grace established herself as one of Hollywood's most talented actresses and iconic beauties. Her astonishing career lasted until her retirement at age...
Drawing on his unprecedented access to Grace Kelly, bestselling biographer Donald Spoto at last offers an intimate, honest, and authoritative portrait...
New York Times bestselling author Donald Spoto has already brilliantly explored the lives and careers of numerous Hollywood stars and entertainment icons--Grace Kelly, James Dean, Alfred Hitchcock, and Marilyn Monroe, to name but a few. In Possessed, his subject is the inimitable Joan Crawford, one of the most electrifying divas of the Golden Age of American film. A more thorough, revealing, and sympathetic portrait of the often maligned movie star--most notably lambasted, perhaps, in the scandalous bestseller, Mommy Dearest--Possessed is a fascinating...
New York Times bestselling author Donald Spoto has already brilliantly explored the lives and careers of numerous Hollywood stars and enterta...
New York Times bestselling author Donald Spoto has already brilliantly explored the lives and careers of numerous Hollywood stars and entertainment icons--Grace Kelly, James Dean, Alfred Hitchcock, and Marilyn Monroe, to name but a few. In Possessed, his subject is the inimitable Joan Crawford, one of the most electrifying divas of the Golden Age of American film. A more thorough, revealing, and sympathetic portrait of the often maligned movie star--most notably lambasted, perhaps, in the scandalous bestseller, Mommy Dearest--Possessed is a fascinating...
New York Times bestselling author Donald Spoto has already brilliantly explored the lives and careers of numerous Hollywood stars and enterta...
Based on meticulous research and new interviews with dozens of family members, friends, lovers, directors, and costars, Rebel offers a revelatory look at actor and film icon James Dean (1931-1955). From the dusty roads of rural Indiana to Manhattan's gay culture , from Broadway to Burbank, here is Dean's troubled life: the tragic death of his mother when he was nine; his tumultous relationship with his father; his rise to stardom in New York and Hollywood and his on-and off-screen exploits.
Based on meticulous research and new interviews with dozens of family members, friends, lovers, directors, and costars, Rebel offers a revelatory lo...
