How to Be a Movie Star: Elizabeth Taylor in Hollywood 1941-1981 - Softcover

Mann, William J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0571237088 ISBN 13: 9780571237081

Publisher: Faber & Faber, 2011

Synopsis

"I don’t pretend to be an ordinary housewife." So said Elizabeth Taylor, and therein lay her secret. From her days as a youthful minx at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to her post-studio reign as America's lustiest middle-aged movie queen, Taylor has defined the very essence of Hollywood stardom. Marching through the decades swathed in mink, discarding husbands nearly as frequently as she changed her diamond necklaces, Taylor dominated the headlines as no other star before or since. From America's sweetheart to America's homewrecker and then back again, she uncannily reflected (and at times predicted) the always shifting cultural zeitgeist. How to Be a Movie Star is a different kind of book about Elizabeth Taylor: an intimate look at a girl who grew up with fame, who learned early - and well - how to be famous.

About this title

Review:

'A rich biography ... it encapsulates her glittering, passionate and heartbreak years in the spotlight with verve.' --Daily Express

'A richly enjoyable biography... Mann has some terrific stories to tell.' -- Sunday Times >> 'Mann's biography intensely researches choice moments from the eight-times-married star's most twinkling era (1941-81). Much of it is devoted to juicy on-set gossip from classic movies such as Cleopatra and Giant ... The Taylor that emerges is gutsy, spoilt and foul-mouthed, with as voracious an appetite for diamonds and sex as the peanut butter and bacon sandwiches she kept in her handbag ... It's a bonkbuster aimed at film buffs ... An enjoyable and informative biography.' -- Metro >> 'Mann's wickedly entertaining biography of Elizabeth Taylor ... Mann cleverly forsakes a conventional biography and instead deconstructs a series of chapters of Taylor's life, deploying both well-known and freshly uncovered tales ... Mann has a dramatists eye, well suited to Taylor's grand entrances, exits and set-pieces ... Mann captures a vivacious, determined actress who fought successfully to live in the public eye on her own terms. The reader is left in little doubt how bruising - as well as immensely fun and dripping in diamonds - the roller-coaster has been. Today's cosseted, risk-averse celebrities simply pale in comparison.' -- The Times >> 'Well researched and keenly observed ... Meticulously researched, brightly written.' -- Sunday Business Post >> 'Mann grapples with the desadence and madness of the girl who became a woman under the spotlight. It's a book of incidental pleasures, dizzying anecdotes and attempts to skewer the cultural zeitgeist that was Taylor in those years. It is also the closest anyone has come to capturing the essence of this troubled screen queen.' -- The List >> 'The sorts of details a reader craves from a celebrity biography, and Mann doesn't skimp on them. Some seem fresh and some are clearly recycled, but all are rendered with a verve and fluidity that keep the book moving along in a fleet fashion. Mann has clearly done his research ... A highlights reel of her cinematic triumphs and a romp through Hollywood during a certain era.' -- --Scotsman

'A richly enjoyable biography... Mann has some terrific stories to tell.' --Sunday Times

Book Description:

How to Be a Movie Star: Elizabeth Taylor in Hollywood 1941-1981 by William J. Mann is an intimate biography of one of the last true Hollywood icons.

About this edition

• Publisher: Faber & Faber
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0571237088
• ISBN 13: 9780571237081
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 528