Truly, Madly: Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier, and the Romance of the Century *Book
A sweeping and heartbreaking Hollywood biography about the passionate, turbulent marriage of Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. In 1934, a friend brought fledgling actress Vivien Leigh to see Theatre Royal, where she would first lay eyes on Laurence Olivier in his brilliant performance as Anthony Cavendish. That night, she confided to a friend, he was the man she was going to marry. There was just one problem: she was already married—and so was he. TRULY, MADLY is the biography of a marriage, a love affair that still captivates millions, even decades after both actors' deaths. Vivien and Larry were two of the first truly global celebrities – their fame fueled by the explosive growth of tabloids and television, which helped and hurt them in equal measure. They seemed to have it all and yet, in their own minds, they were doomed, blighted by her long-undiagnosed mental-illness, which transformed their relationship from the stuff of dreams into a living nightmare. Through new research, including exclusive access to previously unpublished correspondence and interviews with their friends and family, author Stephen Galloway takes readers on a bewitching journey. He brilliantly studies their tempestuous liaison, one that took place against the backdrop of two world wars, the Golden Age of Hollywood and the upheavals of the 1960s — as they struggled with love, loss and the ultimate agony of their parting. Read more
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Why Must Read Truly, Madly: Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier, and the Romance of the Century?
The last time I read a biography of anyone was probably when it was required reading in high school. But 2022 is the year of new books for Queen B, so a biography of a love story sounded like a perfect addition to my TBR. Truly, Madly is the story of classic film stars Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier. Their story felt like a real-life romance novel…except we then see the parts that we don’t always see in fiction. As much as Truly, Madly was about their intense and passionate love for each other, there was so much more that cannot be ignored. Ambition, ego, jealousy, and mental health, Truly, Madly focused on so much more than their romance. It was well written and heavily researched, and including their letters and quotes of others made it feel more realistic—as if I was there with them as it occurred. The in-depth exploration of Vivien’s mental illness, later to be diagnosed as bipolar disorder, was so interesting and heartbreaking at the same time. How gut wrenching it must be to realize that the sparkle and brilliance that once drew Olivier in, was the same reason of the distance between them at the end. Truly, Madly didn’t end with the happy ending that fiction would have given us, and that makes it even more profoundly sad, and yet, it’s memorable. I might have to revisit more biographies in the future. Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for the review copy!
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