A sweeping and heartbreaking Hollywood biography about the passionate, turbulent marriage of Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh, based on new research, exclusive access to uncovered correspondence, interviews with their friends and family, and a groundbreaking exploration of Vivien’s battle with mental illness.
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, 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 Laurence 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 a long-undiagnosed mental illness that transformed their relationship from the stuff of dreams into a living nightmare.
This audiobook takes listeners on a bewitching journey as the author studies their tempestuous relationship, 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.
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“[A] richly detailed account of the fiery ascent and demise of one of Hollywood’s most glamorous couples. ..This page-turning biography is one to get swept up in."
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Publishers Weekly