Sir John Gielgud: A Life in Letters

"What is not so widely known as his storied accomplishments on stage and screen is that Gielgud was a meticulous and enthusiastic letter writer. From thousands of letters, beginning with those to his mother when he was an aspiring but still unknown actor, the editor has chosen these nine hundred gems, which span a period of eighty years. In them, Gielgud writes candidly about his friends and colleagues, many of whom - Garbo, Olivier, Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh, James Mason, Charlie Chaplin, and Richard Burton, to name only a few - were legends in their own right. Gielgud revels in gossip, and delivers outspoken and candid evaluations of his peers, their talent, and his personal relationships.