Despite his autobigraphical writings, despite his gregarious appearances on the London literary scene and in the village pub where he was always available to fans, Laurie Lee was a secretive man. Millions of readers feel they know him from the lyrical account of his Gloucestershire boyhood, immortalized in "Cider with Rosie". They also know that he walked out one midsummer morning in 1934 and wandered through Spain, playing the fiddle before being caught up in the Spanish Civil War. When he returned home, he spent almost the rest of his life writing about these youthful adventures. He was a poet, a playwright and a broadcaster, his books became classics, and he was devoted to two women: his wife and his daughter, "the firstborn". Publicly, he fostered the Laurie Lee legend. But behind his locked study door, in the letters and diaries he left, lay the revealing clues to his private pain and passion: the girls he left behind, the woman who took him to Spain, the woman he came back to...and the others who nurtured, protected and loved him all his crowded, fulfilled but often tormented life. Eventually, when nearly eighty, he published a vivid and moving account of his Spanish Civil War experiences which, after his death, were questioned by fellow veterans. A fierce debate ensued in the national press about Lee's role in the war. Here for the first time, from his private correspondence, are the facts about that time and other hitherto unknown elements in the Laurie Lee story - which are even more fascinating than the legends he fostered.
| ||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.25
Trade in Laurie Lee: The Well-loved Stranger for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Learn more
|
Book Description
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Amazon Review
The author of one of the great memoirs of the century, Cider With Rosie, was also one of the most secretive and elusive of men. "The most devious person it is possible to invent", said his brother Jack. And Lee himself admitted, "I am a person of concealment. No one has ever managed to get through." Whether Valerie Grove ever really gets through, in this magisterial, 500-page biography, is perhaps open to debate. But she brings Lee vividly to life, in all his charm and flirtatiousness, lyricism and laziness. From his early childhood in the beautiful Slad valley in the Cotswolds, to his time in the Spanish Civil War (where he may or may not have fought at the terrible battle of Teruel--depending whom you believe), to his latter days sitting in the Chelsea Arts Club, the Great Author, with a keen eye for a pretty girl in a short skirt, was no intellectual, no thinker. He appeared to have no convictions or opinions and lived entirely through his senses. Perhaps that is why he remains such an elusive character to comprehend. Nevertheless this is a fine and enjoyable biography, the first to be written since his death, with the full co-operation of his estate and access to his wonderful letters. --Christopher Hart
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 30 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
Whilst he was the author of one of the best-loved books in the modern era, Laurie Lee was an elusive character, almost proud of the fact that he allowed no-one to be so close that they knew everything about him. This biography simply could not have been written whilst he lived. By winning the trust and co-operation of so many who knew Lee, Valerie Grove has pieced together the definitive work on him. Many would have been tempted to judge him - dreamer, liar, philanderer - but Valerie Grove demonstrates a true understanding of Laurie Lee; he was a hopeless romantic in all he said, wrote and did. Of course, he only chose to write about some event several decades after it took place and whether it was the poverty of his childhood or the battle at Teruel, what he wrote was inevitably distorted by time and his romantic view. Valerie Grove's achievement here is not to hold Lee up to the bright light of examination but to illuminate things for the reader the way he saw them. For me, this shows not just understanding but a fine sensitivity for what made him what he was; an incurable romantic. Unlike so many biographies, this book is itself beautifully written. The passage describing his death in the village where he had, by now so famously, been born and grown up is extremely moving. Only later can you realise just how Valerie Grove has made you love this incorrigible rogue and sometime vagabond. Millions worldwide have read and enjoyed 'Cider with Rosie'. If you are one of them and if you have ever wondered what became of little Lol, you should read 'Laurie Lee - the well-loved stranger' by Valerie Grove.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
For anyone interested in either Laurie Lee or maybe that period of social history this is a very well researched and written book. Complete with many references, quotes, opinions and general information providing a thorough picture of the man and his travels and friendships.
By Casada
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Having read the Laurie Lee trilogy, I was keen to read more about "the man" as the books left many unanswered questions about him. The Well-Loved Stranger was the only one I could find and I found it fascinating and very informative. It gave me a different feeling for the man, not exactly the idol I had imagined and an idea as to why he fought in Spain and not for Britain. The book was extremely well written and researched I enjoyed it more than his trilogy of his life.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as I had hoped
I found this biography very long winded - too much detail in fact in the end I was bored of it and found myself flipping through the book to find the interesting bits. Read more
Published on 4 Mar 2008 by L. Macleod
5.0 out of 5 stars
A remarkable insight to an essentially private man
We all thought we knew what there was to know about the late and great Laurie Lee. Not so. Valerie Grove has unearthed a minefield of hidden agendas, thought processes and... Read more
Published on 10 Nov 2000
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192198663_.gif){kind=small}
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
